The One With Riley
by all4jesus84
Summary: Monica finds out she has a 16-year-old cousin she and Ross never knew about. Now Monica has no choice but to have her teenage cousin come live with her and Rachel. Without knowing anything about Riley, can the FRIENDS really become friends with a teen?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

It was a typical Saturday morning, especially in New York City for a group of friends in their mid-twenties. Five out of these six friends sat in their favourite coffee shop, Central Perk, talking about the usual randomness over their usual cups of coffees while sitting on their usual sofa.

Ross Gheller was an archelogist who worked at the local museum and enjoyed everything there was to know about dinosaurs. He had already been married once, but it all ended rather badly when he discovered his wife was a lesbian and took off for another woman. At least he got a son out of the marriage, a little one named Ben, who he mostly saw on weekends.

Rachel Greene was Ross's girlfriend and worked for a fashion designer, a job she had dreamed of having her whole life. She came to know her friends after she left her fiancee at the alter a few years back. She went from a life of riches and spoiled by her parents to fending for herself and living in a small apartment with her best friend. But now, she wouldn't trade it for the world.

Joey Tribiani was the goofball of the group. He was also quite the player. It seemed he was seeing a new girl almost every week. It was hard for everyone else to keep up with him. He was also an actor, landing a role as Dr. Drake Ramoray on the hit soap opera, Days of our Lives. Joey was always good for a laugh.

Chandler Bing was Joey's roommate, and the two of them lived across the hall from Rachel and Monica. His parents divorced when he was little, and he used this as his reason for coming up with jokes for every situation. Chandler was incredibly sarcastic, but when it really came down to it, he was always there for his friends.

Phoebe Buffay was a free spirit. She was a massage therapist and on the side, she wrote her own music, playing acts at Central Perk every once in a while. Phoebe was a little naive in some ways, and some might even call her ditzy. But she was a unique addition to the small group of friends that had accumulated in New York City.

Then there was Monica Gheller, who wasn't present that day at the coffee shop. Monica was Ross's little sister, and shared an apartment with Rachel. She came a long way since her high school days, when she weight at least four times more. Her friends would call Monica a control freak, anal and a perfectionist.

The six had been best friends for a few years now, but to them, it seemed as though they had known each other a lifetime.

* * *

"All I'm saying is it's not fair!" Chandler retorted, placing his coffee cup down hard. "Everyone has a date this weekend but me!" He was referring to the fact that his roommate, Joey, _always_ had a date, not to mention Monica had a boyfriend and Ross and Rachel were _always_ together. Phoebe came and sat down beside him. She gave him a condescending pat on the head.

"Aww, don't feel bad Chandler. Not everyone has a date this weekend. I don't have a date." She pointed out. Chandler perked up a little.

"Really?" He asked. Phoebe nodded.

"Uh-huh, so there, you aren't a loser." She said with a smile. Chandler smiled back, but wasn't exactly sure what she meant.

Suddenly, a man nobody recognized hovered by the couch they were all sitting around. He had eyes for Phoebe.

"Excuse me." He said. Phoebe looked up, just as surprised as everyone else for the sudden stranger.

"I was just sitting over there," the guy pointed to a lone seat and looked back at Phoebe, "I just...well, I couldn't take my eyes off of you. I know this is a stretch, since we've just met, but would you...would you do me the honors of going out to dinner with me tonight?" Chandler looked away bitterly. Phoebe was ecstatic.

"Yeah, okay." Phoebe said with a giddy giggle. "Meet me here at 7pm?" The guy nodded with red cheeks and left the coffee shop. Joey, Ross and Rachel all began talking at once.

"Wow, Phoebe, you flame!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Yeah, easy way to get a date." Ross added.

Joey just nodded with a sly grin. Chandler sighed.

"So much for suffering together in silence." He moped. Phoebe glared at him.

"Oh what is your problem? Why don't you just go up and ask some random girl out?" She asked. Chandler glared back.

"Because it comes across as desperate."

"Woah man!" Joey put up a hand. "If that were true, do you think I'd have the luck with women that I do?"

"Anyway, you don't even know him, Phoebe. Don't you think that's a little risky?" Chandler asked, ignoring Joey's comment. Phoebe raised an eyebrow.

"Oh please, Chandler. If that had been a woman coming to ask _you_ out, you would have been buying her a diamond ring before she even made it to the door." She pointed out. Chandler opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it. She was right. He leaned back with a mope.

"I'm pathetic." He sighed.

"Oh hey! Guys, I forgot to tell you. Frank's coming to visit next week!" Phoebe said with a smile of glee written across her face. She was met with blank stares. She sighed.

"You don't know who Frank is, do you?" She asked. Everybody shook their heads.

"Frank _Jr._ You know, my little brother? The one I just found out about a few weeks ago?" Phoebe explained.

"Oh!" Everybody remembered. It was true, only weeks earlier, Phoebe had finally gotten up the courage to find her birth father, but she did not find him. She did, however, find out she had a little brother, half brother actually, named Frank Jr. He was 18, just a teenager, but Phoebe's blood relative nonetheless. Phoebe couldn't have been more excited.

"Is he staying with you?" Rachel wanted to know.

"Yeah, he'll stay in the spare room in the apartment. He said he's really excited about coming to the city. Even though he already lives in a city, he thinks it will be cool to actually see _this_ city." Phoebe said. Ross quietly marvelled at how similar Phoebe's little brother seemed to Phoebe herself.

"Yeah I still think it's really weird that I have a little brother who's only a teenager. You know, he hasn't even _experienced_ life yet. It's really cool that I get to be a part of his life and shape the way he'll grow up." Phoebe said. Chandler had to admit, that thought scared him a little.

Phoebe began sipping her coffee quietly, and Chandler only watched as Ross and Rachel began chatting quietly, whispering "sweet nothings" and holding hands. Chandler sighed loudly.

"Do you really have to do that in the presence of the sad single?" He asked bitterly. Ross and Rachel didn't even look up. Joey patted his roommate on the shoulder.

"Hey man, don't worry 'bout it. I know this girl I work with on Days of our Lives. She's single, your age, I can hook you up. Her name's Kristen. I think you'd be perfect for each other." He said. Chandler's face lit up.

"Really?" He asked. Joey nodded.

"Yeah don't worry about it. I'll talk to her tomorrow and see if she's interested." He replied.

"Joe, just do me a favour." Chandler pleaded. "Don't tell her anything truthful about me!"

"Hey guys!" Monica exclaimed as she entered the coffee shop and hovered over the sofa where her friends were hanging out.

"Hey Monica, where have you been?" Rachel asked.

"Well I would have been down sooner but I've been on the phone with my parents. They said they wanted to meet with me. _Meet_ with me. Like right now, right away. I'm not panicking though, why would I panic? No big deal, just a lunch date with mom and dad." Monica replied, clearly agitated. Ross, her brother, looked up curiously.

"That's weird, since when do mom and dad actually want to hang out with you?" He asked, earning him a hard glare from Monica. Then her face dropped.

"Oh who am I kidding? You're right Ross. Mom and dad aren't exactly the parents of the year, and they _definitely_ don't hang out. Why would they want to get together to _talk_? And why can't it wait? What is so urgent that it has to be talked about _in person_ and right away?" Monica breathed out. "They said they had to talk to _me_ about something. Not Ross, just me, so what did I do wrong this time? Are they going to tell me again how wrong it is for me to be dating Richard because he's a friend of daddy's and _too old?_ Are they going to criticize me for being unemployed? What?"

"Mon, maybe they just want to tell you how much of a wonderful daughter you've been!" Phoebe exclaimed, but it was clear from the reception she received from her friends that was definitely not the case.

Monica breathed out.

"I'll be back in a while. Please be around. I'll probably need emotional support." She turned to leave. "Whatever it's about, I can guaruntee it won't be fun."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Monica thanked the cab driver and paid him, leaving a small tip as she exited the taxi cab in front of Chez Dahlia, a higher end restaurant her parents always insisted on eating at. Must be nice, Monica thought, to have that kind of money. She, on the other hand, was unemployed. Her and her friends had never considered dining at such an establishment. They were quite content ordering pizza and having an after-dinner coffee at Central Perk. Then again, Monica was _very_ different from her parents. Sometimes she wondered how she even related to them.

She gave herself a final check on wardrobe and settled on the fact that her mother wouldn't approve of _anything_ she would wear to such an establishment, so she entered the restaurant, prepared for the worst.

Ross was right, she couldn't deny that. Her parents had always been less than thrilled with Monica and her way of living. Ross was the perfect child; he had a decent job, he had already been married once and he even had a son. Monica, on the other hand, was still living in a small apartment, unemployed and her boyfriend was currently not approved by her parents. Monica tried not to let it get to her for the most part, but unfortunately, there were times when she had to see her parents and hear all about her failures all over again.

A passing waitress inquired of Monica, and seemed surprised when Monica explained she was meeting her parents. _Ugh_, Monica thought. _The fun begins._

The waitress led Monica further into the restaurant and Monica suddenly became very aware of the dress code, and even more aware of the fact that her dressy jeans and black blouse were not quite up to par. Monica took a breath. _This won't last forever._

There they were, her mom and dad, dressed in their finest and waiting for their youngest and only daughter. Monica dutifully gave them both a hug and a kiss before she seated herself across from them. She only ordered a small ceasar salad and a water with lemon, since her parents had already gone ahead and ordered their own food.

"Monica, you really should eat more than just a salad." Mrs. Gheller chastized, glaring at Monica's salad like it was infested with house flies. Monica breathed out.

"Well mom, actually I'm content with just a salad. Not all of us make enough money to buy the filet mignon." She expressed, enjoying the salad that would probably equal the cost of a week's worth of coffees at Central Perk. She tried not to think about that.

"I'm surprised at your decision to wear jeans to Chez Dahlia's, sweetheart." Mrs. Gheller said, taking a moment away from her red wine to gaze judgmentally at Monica's attire. Monica sighed once again.

"I didn't realize it was such a formal dress code." She explained. "You could have warned me."

"Well with a name like _Chez Dahlia_, what did you expect?" Mr. Gheller asked. Monica only shrugged and went back to concentrating on her salad. Dear God, let this be over soon.

"So how are things, Monica?" Mrs. Gheller asked after a while. Monica felt a bit of a relief. Finally, something that wasn't a personal shot to her, or an insult, just an innocent question. Monica wiped a drop of dressing from the side of her mouth.

"Well, things are okay. You know, I'm still job hunting, putting resumes out to different restaurants and stuff but things are going to look up." She paused, unsure if she should bring up the next part, but decided to anyway. "Richard's doing great too."

That did it. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gheller cringed a little and shared a sideways glance. What had Monica been thinking? Of course, she should have expected this. The fact that Richard, her boyfriend, was the same age as her father, and worse, her father's best _friend_, well, it definitely made things awkward whenever Monica brought him up.

"Monica, please, I'm trying to enjoy lunch!" Mr. Gheller said, breathing out and dabbing his head with his napkin. Monica rolled her eyes.

"Look, I know you guys aren't happy with the fact that I'm dating Richard, but can't you just be happy for me? I really love him." She tried. Mrs. Gheller made a sound that Monica recognized as her mother's sound for disapproval. It came as no surprise; she knew both of her parents were adamently against Monica dating Richard. He was too old for her, they said. Monica felt as though she would never be able to please her parents. Her mother especially always complained that Monica wasn't getting any younger and should really consider a serious relationship, and now that she had found someone she had felt serious about, her mother disapproved. Monica sighed.

"Alright, look, why don't we just talk about something else then." She said, lifting her hands in defeat. What else could she do? She would never have their approval of Richard, even if she beat them with a stick into submission. "You guys wanted to talk to me about something."

The atmosphere completely changed. Mr. and Mrs. Gheller were both disgusted and against the idea of Richard, but now, as Monica instrumented the topic change, her parents shifted uncomfortably in their seats, and shared a significant glance that Monica couldn't quite read. She puckered her brow.

"What's up?" She asked again. Mrs. Gheller took in a breath and put down her fork, finished with her meal.

"Monica, do you remember your aunt Jodi?" She asked. Monica did.

"Yeah, dad, isn't that your younger sister who took up prostitution, was disowned from the family and took off when Ross and I were just kids?" She asked, trying to remember. She had, after all, only been eight at the time.

"Yeah that's her." Mr. Gheller said with a sigh. "Well, she called us yesterday."

This struck Monica. Her aunt Jodi, whom nobody had even talked about for almost twenty years, called? Why had she called, and even more alarming, why did Mr. and Mrs. Gheller feel the need to sit down with Monica privately to talk to her about it?

"What did she want?" Monica asked, placing her own fork down. Yeah, like she felt hungry now.

"Well, Monica, it turns out that your aunt Jodi hooked up with some guy several years ago and got pregnant." Mrs. Gheller explained. "She kept the baby."

Monica mulled this over in her mind for a few seconds before she realized what that would mean for her. For Ross.

"Wait, so are you saying that Ross and I have a cousin somewhere out there?" Monica asked. Man, she had always known her family was screwed up, but to hear about her prostitute aunt who had been disowned from her family, hooked up with some guy and had a baby that just happened to be a part of Monica's crazy family, well, that blew her away.

Mr. Gheller nodded.

"Yeah you do. Apparently, a teenage girl." He replied.

"So why did she call you? To tell you after over ten years that you have a neice, that I have a cousin? Why does she care so much to tell you something like that after all this time?" Monica wanted to know. She simply couldn't wrap her mind around this. It was too bizarre.

"No, actually, she called for a different reason," Mr. Gheller replied. "She called because she wants to dump her daughter on us. Jodi's...been having difficulties with her daughter; she told me she can't handle all the rebelliousness anymore. Apparently her daughter's been sneaking out at night, staying out late, running off, running away. Jodi can't take it anymore. She claims she's tried everything and gives up. She wants your mom and I to take her daughter in. She said that because you and Ross turned out so well, we must have done a good job parenting you. Jodi thinks it would be good for her daughter to have that."

Monica stared at her parents, completely bewildered. Was this actually happening? It sounded like something that only happened in those bizarre soap operas her mother used to watch. Not in her life. She cleared her throat and shook her head.

"Wow, that's, um..." What? She couldn't even find the right word. "I can't believe she would just ditch her own kid like that. She gets fed up with bad behaviour and just ships her off? That hardly seems like something a good parent would do." Monica shook her head. How would she have felt if her parents had done that with Monica in high school. She laughed to herself. _It probably would have been a blessing in disguise, in my case._ She thought, remembering her mother's constant criticism as a teenager.

"So are you guys considering it? I mean, are you actually going to take in Jodi's daughter and weed out the rebelliousness in her?" Monica asked, thinking it funny Jodi would pick her parents. _Her_ parents. She couldn't see it happening.

But her parents didn't respond right away. In fact, they just looked at each other. Monica immediately felt uncomfortable as she tried to put the facts together. Her parents just found out about Jodi and her daughter, and now they were in a restaurant with Monica to talk to her. What was Monica's role in this and why wasn't Ross here? What made Monica so important? She swallowed hard.

"Actually dear, that's why we wanted to meet with you." Mrs. Gheller started. Monica felt her stomach knot. Oh this was not going to be good. And then it came.

"We thought it would be better if Jodi's daughter moved in with you." Mrs. Gheller said.

Monica simply stared at them, no doubt wide-eyed and her mouth open slightly. They couldn't be serious. They hadn't just said that, had they? When she didn't respond, Mr. Gheller continued.

"Look Monica, we aren't young anymore. We've already gone through the raising kids thing. We just don't feel as though we're at a place where we can do that right now." He explained.

"What, and you think _I_ am?" Monica said a little too loudly. She ignored the looks of the people from the other tables. Mrs. Gheller sighed.

"Monica, you're unemployed right now, you have more time to deal with something like this." She added.

Monica was shell-shocked. This had come completely out of left field. How could they just spring this on her? Only half an hour ago, she was just Monica, and now, she was Monica who had a crazy aunt who got knocked up and had a daughter that she wanted to ship off to _live _with Monica. This was insane!

"Look, it's not like you'd have to _support_ this kid or anything. Nobody expects you to take care of anything financially. Jodi's rich. I guess somewhere along the way, she won the lottery or something, made a big chunk of money. Everything would be taken care off, finances, anything you'd need." Mr. Gheller explained. Monica put up a hand, to stop her father from speaking. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. She felt suffocated with all this new information.

"Why can't Jodi just get her life together and _learn_ how to be a good mom? Wouldn't that be better?" She asked. Mrs. Gheller looked her in the eye.

"How could she learn how to be a good mom, dear? She's never been a mom in the first place. Let's face it, from what Jodi tells us, it was the nanny that raised that girl. Now, her daughter's simply too old for a nanny and Jodi is scared. She doesn't know what to do, she never wanted children, and now, her own daughter is out of control. The only thing she knows how to do is send her away." She explained.

"Jodi said if we don't take her, she'll send her away to an all-girl's boarding school." Mr. Gheller added. "So Monica, this is your decision."

Monica felt her stomach stiffen and her hands shake. _This is your decision._

Mr. Gheller offered a smile and Monica wanted to punch him. _Why do they have to make this sound like a walk in the park?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Monica didn't go home right away - not after _that._ Instead of getting the cab to drop her off at her apartment, she had the guy drop her three blocks further. She needed time to think about her decision.

As she wandered the streets of New York City, the conversation with her mother and father was still vivid and fresh in her mind, but even that didn't make it seem any more real. She couldn't believe they had actually been _serious._ The very fact that Ross and Monica had a younger cousin that nobody seemed to know about until today was enough to shock Monica, but then to be given this ultimatum right on the spot. Take your cousin in or see her sent off to an all-girls boarding school. Nobody wants her, don't you think it would be good to show her someone does? That had been her mother's comment, and it made Monica so red with anger, she had literally had to bite her tongue to hold it. If her mother was so compassionate and caring toward this kid, why didn't _she_ take her in? But _no!_ They felt too old to do it.

Monica had at least hoped Mr. and Mrs. Gheller would have had enough sense to realize Monica needed time to think this over, but they didn't even do that. They needed her decision today.

"Jodi needs to know soon, she doesn't know how much more of her kid she can take." Her father had added. _Great,_ Monica thought, _thanks dad._

She breathed out, as she made her way toward her apartment. Shell-shocked, yes, that was the right word for what she was feeling. How could they put such a heavy decision on her?

With a million thoughts racing through her mind, between trying to imagine what a 16-year-old cousin of theirs would look like, what kind of brat she must be for her own mother not to want her, but then, Jodi had always been a bit of a brat herself, according to Monica's dad. Maybe the problem wasn't with the kid, maybe it was the mother. But did Monica really want to take that chance? What exactly did Jodi mean by _rebellious_ anyway?

Before Monica even realized it, she was at her apartment. Sighing, she pulled out her keys and let herself into her building, climbing the stairs up to her floor, where she entered the apartment she shared with Rachel.

She wasn't surprised to find the whole gang there, playing cards on the coffee table. It wasn't uncommon for hers and Rachel's apartment to be used as the second best hangout place, besides Central Perk. It was a second home to everyone - in fact, everyone had a key.

Monica didn't say anything to them as she entered, not at first, they were all into their game, so she took off her coat, and draped it over her chair, plopping into it, feeling both overwhelmed and defeated.

"Sorry guys, but I bet I've beat all your hands, because I have a royal flush!" Ross announced, as he enthusiastically placed his cards down on the table, jumping up to gloat by dancing. Rachel, Phoebe, Joey and Chandler looked at his cards, and all looked back up at him, unamused. Ross stopped.

"What?" He asked.

"Ross, do you _know_ how to play poker?" Rachel asked. Ross laughed.

"Well sure I know. _That_ is a winning hand, I believe." He announced, slowly moving back into position to do his dance again.

"Ross, are you sure you aren't confusing this with another poker hand?" Chandler asked, looking at Ross's cards again, "like two pair?"

Ross stopped and looked at his cards, staring at them for a few seconds before he let out an awkward laugh. "Oh! Well, I uh, I guess I thought the Queen was a King for a second..."

"Which would still make it a hand full of nothing!" Phoebe exclaimed. Ross threw his cards down and moped.

"That's why I thought Crazy Eights would have been better." He complained. The rest of the group placed their cards down and finally greeted Monica.

"Hey Mon, how are the parents doing?" Rachel asked, as she took a spot next to Monica at their kitchen table.

"Yeah hey, you survived. It couldn't have been that bad then." Phoebe said in her gleeful way. Monica didn't smile, she just sighed.

"It _was_ bad?" Ross asked, joining the group at the table. "What happened?"

Monica breathed out and looked up at her brother.

"You know aunt Jodi?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Ross squinted, as though struggling to remember. Then he nodded.

"Oh, oh yeah, that, uh, the prostitute." He replied.

"Woah, wait," Joey interrupted, "you guys have a prostitute in your family?" He grinned from ear to ear. Monica ignored him, as did everyone else, and continued.

"Yeah, well mom and dad told me today aunt Jodi has a daughter."

"Wait, aunt Jodi contacted dad? I thought she was disowned from the family." Ross inquired.

"Yeah, well, reowned, apparently!" Monica exclaimed bitterly.

"Wait...a cousin? We have a cousin? Well when she was born? Was Jodi calling to brag about her new daughter?" Ross asked. Monica raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

"New, no Ross. That's the thing. Her daughter's 16!" She exclaimed, wanting Ross to understand exactly how shocked she had been when she had initially found out. Honestly! 16 years without a word from aunt Jodi, and now she had a cousin? It was ridiculous.

Obviously, Ross felt the same way.

"What? Are you kidding me? Why didn't dad tell us?" He asked in a louder voice. Monica rolled her eyes.

"He didn't know either, Ross, can you _try_ to keep up please?" She breathed out heavily. "Anyway, they didn't invite me to lunch just to tell me I had a cousin. _That_ would have been too simple!"

"Wait, are you saying there's more?" Rachel asked. Monica pounded her hands on the table, breathed out, and told her friends everything, all about Jodi's request, and her parents' suggestion. They all stared at her as though she had something growing out of her ears. She felt better. They were all as shocked as she had been. _Yeah, but at least they didn't have to make a decision on the spot._ Monica sighed.

"I can't believe we have a cousin who's been around for _16_ years. How horrible is that? I mean, all those Christmas get-togethers. I know Jodi's been disowned, but you'd think somebody would know about a new member of the family." Ross pointed out, shaking his head.

"That's so horrible, how could a mom not want her own kid?" Phoebe asked. Monica spread her arms out wide.

"I don't know, but according to Jodi, she's a bad kid. That's the whole reason she wants her gone. Jodi thinks it would knock some sense into her or something like that." Monica shook her head. "I don't know." Joey shrugged.

"Well hey then, don't worry about it. That makes your decision a heck of a lot easier to make, doesn't it? If she's a bad kid, clearly you're gonna say no." He pointed out. Ross, Chandler, Phoebe, and Rachel all nodded their agreement, but when they noticed Monica sitting perfectly still, staring at her hands, they had a bad feeling.

Monica cleared her throat.

"I said yes."

Nobody said a word. They didn't have to. The looks on their faces was enough. Monica exhaled deeply, standing up and beginning to pace.

"Well, what choice did I have? I mean, they put me on the spot! They didn't even give me a chance to think about it, I had to make a decision right there!" She rubbed her temples. "Mom and dad didn't want her, they thought they were too old to handle it. Jodi doesn't want her, as horrible as that is. The only other solution, _apparently_, was me. What was I supposed to do? Do you know what they were going to do if I said no? Jodi would ship her off to an all-girl's _boarding school!_"

Both Phoebe and Rachel visibly shuddered.

"I _know!_ Do you see my dilemna?" Monica sighed sadly. "What kind of a horrible person would I be if I said no and it was my fault that poor kid would suffer through the rest of high school without a single date?" Phoebe and Rachel were suddenly sitting with her again, nodding their agreement. Suddenly, it all made sense.

Of course, the boys didn't really get it, especially Joey, who couldn't understand how an all-girl's school was a bad thing.

"So..." Phoebe started. "When is she coming?"

Monica turned around and took a glance at the calendar.

"Next week." She admitted. Chandler shook his head, finally read to say his piece.

"Monica, are you _crazy?_ I mean, have you even though this through? I mean, no offense or anything, but really, what do you know about raising kids?" He asked, earning him an immediate hard glare from everyone in the room. It didn't take a genius to know that talking about raising kids, or babies, or anything to do with kids was a taboo subject with Monica, who wanted nothing more than to have a baby. They knew Monica as the one who had baby fever. It was always a touchy subject.

Monica shook it off quickly.

"Chandler, she's not exactly a kid, is she? She's a teenager. It's not like I have to change diapers, or get up for midnight feedings. She can fend for herself." She sighed, looking at all of her friends for support, as she swallowed. "Really. How hard can it be?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

A few days had passed, and Monica was scrambling around the small apartment in a cleaning frenzy. Her cousin would be coming in a few days, and she wanted to make sure the apartment was clean for her arrival.

Ross had tried to convince her that cleaning the apartment would only be done in vain - didn't she remember how messy _he _was as a teenager? Monica cringed at the thought. If Jodi's daughter was anything like Ross, Monica wasn't sure she _could_ handle it.

Although, she was beginning to wonder if she could at all! She had made her decision so impulsively, unable to think anything through until later. The idea was mind-numbing, now. In only three days, there would be three living in this apartment, instead of two, and one of them would be under the age of 20.

Monica tried to imagine what Jodi could possibly mean by 'rebellious.' According to Mr. Gheller, Jodi wasn't exactly the best person in the world. Was her daughter _really_ rebellious, or was she simply misunderstood? Really, Monica had no way of knowing the truth. She wouldn't have the chance to talk to Jodi, not before her daughter showed up. Besides, would talking to Jodi really help? After all, _she_ was the one shipping her kid of to essentially a stranger's apartment. She hadn't seen Monica since she was a child, after all.

Sighing, Monica busied herself with cleaning out the refridgerator. What did this kid even like to eat? She couldn't believe how many questions were racing through her mind, things she had no way of knowing. Was she even doing the right thing? She couldn't imagine what life would have been like if _her_ parents had shipped her off to an all-girls boarding school. That just wasn't _right_. The poor girl would never learn how to flirt, or date, and what would senior prom look like for her? No, if Monica could stop that fate, she would.

Still, it didn't make the reality any easier to deal with. She scrubbed the fridge harder.

Phoebe walked in the door, yelling a quick hello as she dropped her purse to the floor.

"Oh hey Phoebe, what's up?" Monica asked, wringing out her cloth in the sink.

"Nothing much, I just thought I'd stop by before I go out on my date." Phoebe replied.

"Oh you mean that guy who asked you out at the coffee shop the other day?" Monica asked.

"Uh-huh! His name is Len. Isn't that awesome? I've never dated anyone who's name began with _'L'_ before!" Phoebe exclaimed excitedly. Monica nodded.

"Wow, that is exciting." She said sarcastically, obviously unimpressed. Phoebe sat down.

"So what are you doing? It smells like death in here!" She pointed out. Monica rolled her eyes.

"It's not death, Phoebe, it's cleaning fluid. We go through this everytime. They're chemicals, they aren't supposed to smell great." She said defensively. Phoebe looked away.

"Alright, alright, don't get yourself all worked up." She paused. "Why are you cleaning anyway? Didn't you just clean this place a few days ago?"

"This place will never be clean enough, Phoebe." Monica breathed out. "Besides, I'm trying to get the place ready for when she comes."

"Oh! You mean the mystery cousin! I gotta say, Monica, I'm excited to meet her. I want to read her aura, predict her future, see what she was in a past life. You don't have an article of her clothing, do you? I mean, _then_ I could figure out some stuff about her before she even gets here!" Phoebe cried out.

"No, I don't have an article of her clothing, Phoebe, I don't even know her _name!_"

"Oh, that's too bad. A name says a lot about a person."

"Really?" Monica wasn't overly convinced. Phoebe grew excited.

"Oh yeah! Look my name, for example. It means 'shiny.' Am I _not_ the shiniest person you've ever met?" She flashed a smile. Monica sighed, smiling.

"Well I wish I did know her name, Phoebe. I wish I knew _something_ about her. I mean this whole thing is just a big mystery. I don't know anything about this kid. I don't know what Jodi means by 'rebellious.' I really don't know how I got myself into this. I mean, I didn't really have a choice now, did I? Her own mother doesn't want her, my parents don't want her and if I don't let her stay here, she gets shipped off to some forsaken all-girl's boarding school." She paused, allowing Phoebe to visibly shudder. "Maybe this was a mistake, but I mean, ugh, I just don't know."

"Do you want her?" Phoebe asked suddenly. Monica turned back, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh?" She asked, swallowing.

"Do you want her to come here?"

Monica breathed out. She didn't know. It wasn't like she absolutely _didn't_ want her here, she just wasn't 100% sure she did, either.

"I don't know, Phoebe. I mean, how could I know? I've never met the girl, heck, I've barely met Jodi. But there's something inside of me that says I need to at least give her a chance." She sighed. "Nobody else will." Phoebe nodded.

"You're doing a good thing, Monica. You may not realize it now because the idea of a teenager invading your space is just weird, but she probably appreciates it. Think about it. If I had been a teenager faced with the possibility of going to an all-girls boarding school but then rescued at the last minute by some long-lost cousin, I'd be flying high." Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Face it, Monica, that makes you a hero."

Monica smiled, liking the sounds of that as Phoebe gathered her bags together.

"Well I'm off to meet _Len._" She sang his name. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck." Monica called as Phoebe ran out the door with a squeal. Monica shook her head and reflected on what Phoebe had said. Was this kid out there somewhere, excited about coming here? Was she already thinking about Monica as a hero of sorts? She wasn't sure, but it made her feel better just thinking about it.

A few minutes later, Ross and Rachel came through the door holding hands.

"Hey sis." Ross called as he dropped his coat on the floor.

"Pick that up! Can't you see I'm cleaning?" Monica snapped and Ross grabbed that jacket so fast, it was ridiculous.

"Sorry! Geez, you don't have to get so worked up." Ross defended. Monica opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself. It wasn't worth it, she just went back to cleaning.

"You know Phoebe's got that date today, with that random guy from the coffee shop." Monica said. Rachel was suddenly interested, as Monica knew she would be. Rachel had an ear for gossip.

"Oh yeah! Did you get any details?" She asked.

"Not many, just that his name is Len." Monica replied.

"What kind of a name is Len?" Ross asked.

"What kind of a name is Ross?" Monica replied in a snotty voice, scrunching her face up like a little kid and mimicking Ross. Rachel laughed.

"Did she say where they were going?" She asked, getting back to Phoebe.

"No, I guess we'll find out later." Monica replied.

Suddenly, there was a buzz at the door. Ross wandered over to answer it.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Hey, I have a delivery here for a Monica Gheller." The voice on the other end of the intercom announced.

"Oh sure, come on up." Ross pressed the unlock button and went back to the girls, who seemed excited.

"A delivery. I wonder what it is." Monica said, clasping her hands together. "It feels like Christmas!"

The three of them waited by the front door until a knock finally pierced the silence. Ross opened the door to reveal a tall, burly deliveryman, holding a mattress!

Monica's stomach sank.

"Um, I think you might have the wrong apartment." Ross said, looking to Rachel and Monica for confirmation. The deliveryman raised an eyebrow, and checked his clipboard.

"I don't think so. Nope, this is the right apartment. A delivery for Monica Gheller. A single bed. It was ordered by Jodi Gheller."

Now it all made sense. The bed was no doubt for Jodi's daughter. Mr. Gheller had said everything would be taken care of financially for Jodi's daughter. Monica sighed, feeling the reality of the situation setting in strongly.

"It's for our cousin, Ross. Jodi's daughter." Monica explained, taking the clipboard from the deliveryman and signing it. Ross understood.

"Cool. Where do you want me to set it up?" The deliveryman asked.

Monica's stomach dropped, as she looked sideways at Rachel. Her eyes were wide as well. They hadn't thought about this. Where was the kid going to sleep? The apartment only had two bedrooms. One of the two roommates would have to bunk with a teenager.

"Can you give us a sec?" Monica asked the deliveryman, leaving him to talk with Ross while she herself took a hold of Rachel's arm and led her out of earshot.

"What are we going to do?" Monica asked. Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"What are _we_ going to do? No, no, no. There is no decision to be made here. She's sleeping in your room." She replied. Monica raised an eyebrow.

"Hold on a minute! This is _both_ our apartment! We should decide this fair and square."

"Be realistic, Monica! I can't have a teenage girl sleeping in my room. What about when Ross comes over?"

"What about when _Richard_ comes over?"

"Well, I've lived here a shorter amount of time! Okay, that means you've had your own room longer, so it's time for you to share the wealth!"

"That's a stupid reason!"

"You got anything better?"

"Yes! Well, uh, oh! A teenage girl wouldn't be able to _stand_ sleeping in my room. You know, the rules! I'm strict when it comes to my room! It would need to stay clean all the time. She'd fit in better with you!"

"Are you claiming my room is a disaster?"

"Have you _seen_ it lately?"

"You know what Monica? She's _your_ cousin. _You're_ the one who agreed to let her stay here _without_ consulting me, your _roommate!_ Shouldn't that be reason enough to _at least_ share a room?" Rachel crossed her arms, satisfied with her argument.

Monica opened her mouth to argue back, but she couldn't find anything logical. Rachel was right, as much as she hated to admit it. Monica had to be responsible. She agreed to take this kid in, she couldn't just pawn her off. Sighing, she reluctantly turned back to the deliveryman, who was watching the two girls with an annoyed glance.

"You can set it up in that room." She said monotonously, pointing to her bedroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Rachel grinning. Monica wanted to throw something at her.

As the deliveryman dragged the mattress toward Monica's room, Ross joined them again, shaking his head. Monica raised an eyebrow.

"What?" She asked, visibly annoyed.

"Nothing, it's just-" he breathed out with a small smile. "It just seems this kid isn't wanted anywhere."

Monica felt a stab of guilt inside, and as she glanced sideways at Rachel, she could see her roommate was feeling it too. How selfish were they? Fighting over where this girl was going to sleep when she was out there somewhere, probably feeling unwanted and unloved because her mother was kicking her out, in a sense. Monica breathed out.

"That's not true, Ross. She _is_ wanted here, it's just a new experience." She sighed, looking over at Rachel, who smiled a little, nodding her agreement. "It'll be fun."


	5. Chapter 5

Monica snuggled up against her boyfriend, Richard, while she pondered over some things. Richard was staying the night, and they had been in bed for an hour, but neither of them had slept. Her heart hadn't been completely in it, and Richard could tell. He could always tell. Monica loved him dearly, he was the best boyfriend she had ever had - it was too bad her parents hated the idea so much. Of course, she couldn't really blame them. Richard had been, after all, her father's best friend, they were the same age. Monica sometimes felt weirded out by the fact that her boyfriend was double her age, but then, when she was with him, it felt completely natural.

"You okay, hun?" Richard asked suddenly, stroking his girlfriend's hair softly. Monica smiled under his touch, and shifted to face him.

"I'm fine." She smiled. "I'm just thinking about my upcoming life." Richard considered her for a moment before he got it.

"Oh, you mean because your little cousin's coming here to stay." He pointed out. Monica nodded.

"She's not exactly little anymore. Man, I can't believe all these years I've had a cousin that much younger than me. I mean, what would family get-togethers have been like if there was a little girl running around?" She asked.

"Knowing you, you would have tortured the poor soul into dressing up, makeovers and nail polish before she could even walk." Richard replied. Monica gave him a look. "Sorry, hun."

"No, it's okay, you're right, I would have. And part of me resents Jodi for denying that poor girl her family. I mean, didn't she ever ask about us? 'Hey mom, why don't I have aunts and uncles and cousins like all the other kids in my class?' How could Jodi have not said anything?" Monica asked.

"How do you know she didn't?" Richard played the devil's advocate. Monica sighed.

"I doubt it. She was disowned from her family, not something to be proud of. I'm betting she didn't make that information readily available to anyone, even her daughter." She paused. "Besides, the way dad talks about her, it's like Jodi's raising this little hellian. Maybe she never asked, maybe she doesn't care. So what must _she_ be feeling right now? 'Oh great, I'm going to live with some distant family I don't know about it.' She's going to act out, I just _know_ it!"

"Monica, are you panicking over things you know nothing about? Come on, let's look at this way - maybe she's a 'hellian' because she's acting out toward her _mother!_ Maybe when she's away from her mother, she'll be a completely different person. Hey, look on the bright side, Monica, maybe you'll be the hero in all this." Richard replied. Monica breathed out.

"That's what Phoebe said." She admitted. Richard smiled.

"See, wisdom from Phoebe, then I _must_ be right." He winked. Monica raised her head and kissed him.

"Thanks baby, I'm glad I have your support." She said gently. He breathed out, and looked over at the spare bed over at the side of the bedroom. He shook his head a little, clearing his throat.

"Although, I have to admit, I am a little weirded out with the presence of a second bed that will be occupied by a teenage girl in a few days." He admitted. Monica sighed, looking over at the single bed with dark red sheets and a heavy black comforter that had been delivered that afternoon, right after the bed. Monica made the bed earlier that evening, wanting it to be ready when her cousin arrived.

"I know it's a little weird, but I'm sure we'll get used to it eventually." Monica replied. Richard shook his head.

"That's not exactly what I was thinking, love. I mean, I don't know how comfortable I am having sex with you when a 16-year-old is sleeping three feet away." He replied. Monica sat up and playfully smacked him on the chest.

"What do you think of me? Do you honestly think I would do that?" She yelled out. Richard laughed.

"No." He leaned in and kissed her. "But what are we going to do, about us?" Monica sighed, she had been trying to think about a solution to this problem all afternoon.

"I don't know, we'll just, we'll figure something out." She leaned back down against him. "Like maybe she can bunk with Rachel when you come over. I'll come up with something to say to her."

"What, you don't want to tell her the truth?" Richard asked.

"First of all, she's 16, second of all, she's a cousin I just found out I have. I don't go telling my secrets to just anybody, _especially_ not kids!" Monica replied.

"Fair enough, fair enough. So what do we do if Rachel has Ross over?" He asked. Monica puckered her brow and thought.

"Well, maybe we can send her over to Chandler's and Joey's. No, on second thought, with the women Joey's always bringing over, that's a _bad_ idea." She thought further. "Oh! I know! Oh it's brilliant! We can organize schedules! Yeah, like Rachel can have Ross over on Tuesdays and Thursday, and I can have you over on Mondays and Wednesdays, or I could have-"

"That poor girl is going to get dizzy, switching rooms back and forth." Richard pointed out.

"Well, maybe she can always stay in here, and then Rachel and I will rotate rooms, so whoever has the boyfriend over gets her room for the night."

"And you don't think your cousin's going to ask questions when she had a different roommate every night?"

Monica sighed, and Richard embraced her tightly.

"Monica, I'm just playing with you. You're right, we'll figure something out. I mean, there's always my place too, and hey, she's a teenager, she'll be at sleepovers with her little friends every weekend anyway, right?" He lifted Monica's chin so he could look into her eyes. "I think you're doing a real good thing here, Monica, seriously. It makes me love you even more, if that's possible."

Monica smiled and leaned up to kiss him, and in that moment, all the confusion and turmoil floated away, because she was here, with him. Nothing else mattered.

For now.

* * *

The next afternoon, Monica arrived at Central Perk after she had cleaned her apartment for the third time that week. There, she found all of her friends: Joey, Chandler, Ross, Rachel and Phoebe. Monica found a spot on the sofa beside Chandler and realized they were all talking about Phoebe's date.

"Wait, what happened? What did I miss?" Monica asked. Phoebe sighed, and started over again.

"Well, you know how I was super stoked about my date with Len?" She asked. Monica nodded, recalling the euphoria Phoebe expressed the previous day before she left for her date.

"Well, he wasn't that exciting. He was a complete _dud!_ I mean, he was so _dull!_ He talked about volcanos and weird stuff about geography. I had to keep myself from falling asleep!" She exclaimed. Ross threw his arms up in the air, frustrated.

"I don't understand! How can you find that boring? See, that's my perfect vision of a date." He said. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm _sorry_ I'm not interesting enough. Maybe _you_ should date Len." She said, gently smacking him in the chest. Phoebe sighed.

"Well, anyway, back to _me._" She waited. "It just figures I'd land a date who was boring. Can't I ever catch a break? Both Monica and Rachel have awesome guys and I get stuck with Lame Len."

"Don't feel bad, Pheebs, at least you _chose _to walk away from a bad date. My date walked away from _me!_" Chandler exclaimed, moping sourly as all eyes went to him. Joey looked taken aback.

"What? I set you up with that awesome girl from my set! What happened to Kristen?" He asked, offended. Chandler rolled his eyes.

"Oh, everything was fine _at first_. We walked through Central Park, and then went for dinner. Then it went downhill. Halfway through dinner, she suddenly said she had to leave, and when I suggested I could take her home, she wouldn't hear of it. She had the _nerve_ to tell me she was sick of my 'lame' jokes, and was looking for someone who took things a little more seriously." Chandler went back to moping, waiting to hear his friends' 'awws' and 'I'm sorry's', but they never came. He looked up.

"Now's the time when you all feel sorry for me and tell me she was horrible for abandoning me." He offered. Rachel shook her head.

"Well, Chandler, sometimes your jokes _are_ a little, well, overdone." She admitted. Before Chandler had a chance to argue, Joey spoke up, changing the subject.

"Well, _my_ date was awesome, maybe I found the perfect woman, who knows?" He pointed out. Chandler made a gagging noise, but only because he was bitter. Ross, looking to ease some of the tension in the air, turned to Monica.

"So, our cousin, she's coming tomorrow, isn't she?" He asked his sister. Monica, half listening, half distracted, looked up and realized they were talking to her. She smiled.

"Yeah, she's coming tomorrow." She confirmed.

"You ready?" Phoebe asked. Monica shrugged.

"I don't think you can ever be prepared for something like that, I mean, look how fast it all happened. A week ago, I was nothing but unemployed and dating the most awesome guy on earth. Now all those things are still true, except now there's gonna be a teenage girl around. I mean, my whole _life_ is going to be different. I'll have to watch everything I do, won't I? Kids are so impressionable." She said with a sigh.

"Yeah, but you said yourself, she's not exactly a kid." Rachel pointed out. Monica breathed out.

"Still, I don't want to corrupt her or anything." She paused. "I don't really know what to expect. Jodi talks about her like she's this devil child, I mean, isn't that why she's sending her away? I'm not gonna lie to you guys, I'm not gonna be able to do this by myself. I'm going to need your help. I don't think it's going to be easy." She tried not to let her anxiety show, but she couldn't help it. Monica was a nervous wreck on a good day - nevermind the fact that in less than 24 hours, she would be sharing an apartment with a teenager.

"Of course we're going to help, honey, we're all friends, and we're all in this together." Rachel replied.

"Yeah, I mean, just because you were the one who was asked to, like, be her mom or whatever, doesn't mean we can't all play mom's and dad's." Chandler said awkwardly. Monica rolled her eyes.

"Geez Chandler, I wasn't asked to be her _mom_, I'm not _that_ much older than her! I'm not even a full ten years older!" She said defensively. A mom to a teenager, _gosh!_

"Anyway, if your cousin is anything like Frank Jr., it should be a piece of cake. He occupies himself, for the most part. When he visits me, he just spends most of his time melting things. I hardly have to do anything with him!" Phoebe exclaimed, trying to be helpful, but Monica's face drained of color as she considered this. Melting things? What a mess...

"M-maybe I should hide all the lighters and matches." She said quietly.

"Monica, hey, don't panic. I mean, come on, she's _just_ a teenager." Rachel said with a casual shrug.

But, as the six recalled their days as teenagers, they all became slightly freaked out at the concept of bringing in a teenager.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Monica was sure she was having a panic attack.

Sure, not a full-fledged panic attack, but she was definitely panicking.

It was the 15th. Her cousin was coming today, in fact, she was supposed to be here any minute now!

Her father had called her last night to give her the details of her cousin's arrival. She was supposed to land in New York City that morning and then come to the apartment. It was nearing noon now. It would be any time now.

Thankfully, she wasn't alone. She had invited all her friends over to greet the new addition. Yes, there was the part of her who invited them so the young girl would feel welcome and comfortable, especially since her own mother had practically kicked her out, but there was also that part of Monica who needed their moral support. This was, after all, the biggest decision she had ever made. There really was no turning back. There was always the safety net of the all-girl's boarding school, but the thought of that made Monica shudder.

Everyone was sitting down, casually watching TV, but Monica was running around the apartment, checking to make sure the beds were made, the counters spic and span, the bathroom presentable.

"Monica, sit down, you're going to blow a gasget." Ross yelled. Rachel agreed.

"Yeah, Mon, you've been cleaning for a week straight. The girl's a _teenager_. She's not going to be evaluating the apartment's cleanliness factor." She paused. "And if she does, then clearly you're related." Monica gave her an unimpressed look and smacked Joey upside the head when a piece of his popcorn spiraled to the floor. He picked it up promptly.

"Seriously, you guys, she's going to be here any minute." Monica whined.

"Precisely why you need to relax." Chandler added.

"That's why you're here!" Monica exclaimed.

"I thought we were here to make the cousin feel welcome. Man, it must suck not to be wanted." Phoebe said, pondering.

"She _is_ wanted, that's why you're all here, but you're also here to support me, comfort me, hold me, love me, whatever!" She exhaled heavily. "This is so hard!"

"Hey Mon, what are you going to do about Jodi?" Ross asked suddenly. Monica turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" She inquired.

"Jodi. When she comes to drop off her daughter, what are you going to say to her? Keep me away from her, I'll probably spaz out." Ross looked away. Monica's stomach dropped. All this time she had been thinking about her cousin coming and never once thought of Jodi. Monica felt butterflies in her stomach. What _would_ she say to Jodi?

_You're a horrible mother, just dumping your kid of with strangers._

_Look, I know nothing about teenagers, don't leave her here!_

_What exactly do you mean by...rebellious?_

Monica thought she was going to pass out.

"Easy Monica, sit down." Rachel eased Monica onto the sofa as Monica's face paled and her eyes glazed over as she was deep in thought.

"M-maybe I won't have to talk to her. Rachel, you can pretend to be me." Monica said, sitting up straight, pleased with her idea. Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Monica, I look nothing like you." She pointed out.

"No, but see, that doesn't matter. Jodi hasn't seen me since I was just a kid. A lot can change in sixteen years!"

"Monica, it's not going to work, you just have to face this!" Rachel sighed. "Besides, just think, once Jodi's gone, you won't have to worry about it anymore."

Monica breathed out.

"No, then I just have to worry about a rebellious teenager."

"I think Jodi's full of it. Maybe she won't be rebellious at all. Most parents don't know anything about their kids, right? I mean, Rachel, did _your_ parents know about all those guys you made out with in high school?" Phoebe said.

Rachel only blushed and Phoebe raised an eyebrow.

"See?" Monica shook her head.

"That really doesn't make me feel any better, Pheebs, but thanks for trying."

Suddenly, a loud buzz sounded through the apartment, and Monica nearly fell off the sofa from jumping so high.

"Relax, sis, it's just the intercom." Ross smiled. "I think she must be here."

The TV went off, everyone turned around and stared at Monica, who hesitantly got up and walked to the door. She shakily brought her hand up to the intercom and pressed 'talk.'

"H-hello?" She asked. What had she expected to hear on the other end?

_Hey, let me up! _

_I don't wanna be here, but open the door!_

_What's taking so long!_

But that wasn't what she heard at all.

"Is...is this Monica Gheller?"

The voice was young, and it seemed timid and nervous. Monica could almost hear the shaky breathing over the intercom.

Monica cleared her throat.

"Yes, this is Monica." She swallowed. "Come on up, I'm apartment 20."

She pressed the unlock button and they could do nothing now, but wait.

She turned to her friends.

"It's going to be great, Monica."

"You can do this!"

"You're not alone."

"We are all here for you."

"Do you have any pizza left?"

Feeling encouraged by the presence of her friends, she smiled and didn't even jump when a small knock sounded.

Monica breathed out and opened the door.

Well, there she was.

She was shorter than Monica had imagined her, shorter than any of her friends, with long black hair and dark brown eyes. She didn't wear any makeup, except for dark eyeliner, and she wore baggy black pants and a red T-shirt with a skull on the front. Around her one wrist was a black wristband with a white skull embroidered on it, and her shoes were skater shoes - Monica only knew that because Rachel came home from work one day saying they were a new 'fad.'

At first, the image intimidated Monica a little bit - from her attire, she _looked_ like a rebel, but then there were those eyes. They looked up at Monica shyly, but politely. She didn't look angry or mean or rebellious. She even smiled a little.

All she had sitting beside her were two small suitcases and a backpack on her back.

"Hi." Monica said finally. The teenage girl smiled a little.

"Hi." She replied.

"I'm Monica." Monica said. The girl nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Monica. My name's Riley." She replied. Monica smiled. _Finally, a name!_ She thought, thinking it was strange that was the first thought to cross her mind.

Blinded for a moment by curiosity and uncertainty, Monica finally came to her senses.

"Oh, well, come on in." She stood aside and let Riley come in, dragging her two suitcases behind her. She looked up and realized there were five other people in the room, and Monica swore she saw pink forming in the girl's cheeks.

"Yeah, I know, there's a lot of people here, but I'll introduce everybody. This is Ross, he's my brother, and, I guess, your other cousin."

Ross waved with a corny smile.

"This is Rachel, and this is Joey, Chandler and Phoebe."

Everybody waved at the mention of their names, and Riley smiled at each of them in turn.

"Guys, this is Riley." Monica said with a nervous smile.

"Hi Riley." Everyone chimed and Riley laughed a little, feeling a little uncomfortable and awkward. Silence followed for a moment before Monica remembered what Ross had said earlier, and she looked behind her and then walked out into the hallway, looking down it curiously. Riley, as well as the rest of the friends, turned to see what she was doing. Monica returned, glancing curiously at Riley.

"Where's your mom?" She asked. Riley looked at her curiously, and puckered her brow.

"My mom?" She inquired. Monica nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, who brought you here?" She asked.

"Nobody. I mean, I was just put on a plane." Riley replied, then paused. "Well, _actually_, I had to take a cab _to_ the airport and then get on a plane. Once I got here to New York, I took a cab here." Monica puckered her brow, staring at the girl in front of her.

"By yourself?" She asked. Riley smiled awkwardly and laughed a little.

"Well, I'm 16." She replied, as though it wasn't a big deal. Monica smiled.

"Oh, I know, I'm just surprised, I guess. I would have thought maybe your mom would have wanted to say 'bye' or something." She pointed out. Riley shook her head and snickered a little.

"Yeah," she raised an eyebrow with a pained smile. "You don't know my mom."

Monica immediately felt bad for bringing it up, and she could see the topic of Jodi would be a touchy subject. There was clearly more to the story than just what she found out through Jodi's side.

Riley cleared her throat, ready to change the subject.

"You have a really nice apartment." She said, looking around. "It's really clean." Monica glanced at Ross and raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

Riley turned back and looked at all the friends.

"Do you _all_ live here?" No doubt, Riley was wondering where they all slept - it wasn't _that_ big of an apartment.

Monica laughed a little.

"No, Rachel does. She's my roommate. Yours too now, I suppose. Ross lives across the street in those apartment buildings, Pheebs lives a few blocks over and Joey and Chandler live across the hall. But, we usually all hang out here, or down in the coffee shop." She explained, wondering what life would be like if all six of them had to share the same space. The thought of expanding their living quarters to accomodate three instead of two had been stressful enough.

Riley smiled.

"I've never been to New York before. It's really big, or at least it seemed that way when I was coming down here." She said.

"Did you get to see Central Park on your ride down?" Ross asked.

Soon, Riley was sitting in the living room with everybody, and they were all talking about their favourite parts of New York City, and asking questions about Seattle, where Riley had come from. Monica secretly smiled to herself, happy how easily Riley was fitting in, happy that she didn't seem to be anything at all like what she had imagined. There was more going on than she knew. Jodi said Riley was a rebel, shipped her off, but Monica thought there was more to Riley than that. The girl was nothing like a rebel. She was polite, she was smiling, she was _laughing._ How could this girl be bad news?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Monica was clearing up after dinner, and what a mess it was. Everybody had stayed over, eager to get to know Riley better and make her feel more than welcome. Monica had even been worried about what to make for dinner, unsure of what her 16-year-old cousin enjoyed, but when she suggested about six different dishes she could make, she was surprised to find that Riley was okay with anything she made, and smiled while she said so.

Maybe this was going to be easier than Monica had anticipated.

But then, over dinner, Riley had looked around curiously, taking in the whole of the apartment. Monica picked up on this and dreaded telling her the news that she wasn't going to get her own room. Monica remembered to when she was 16. If she hadn't had her own room, adolescence would have been worse, worse than it already was.

Monica cleared her throat.

"Uh, Riley, this apartment is pretty small, as I'm sure you've already figured out. I wish I could say you get your own room, but, well, you'll have to bunk with me. At least until we can figure something out, a better arrangement." She said, fearing the reaction. Maybe that rebellious monster was still in there, somewhere. She would have to snap sometime, wouldn't she?

But Riley just shrugged, chewing on her dinner roll.

"S'okay, I don't really care. I'll be happy with whatever I get." She laughed, looking around the small apartment. "It's really different than the mansion."

Monica swallowed. She had forgotten. Jodi had won the lottery - of course, Riley was coming from a richer lifestyle. She probably had three bedrooms of her own back home. Monica blinked.

"Sorry Riley, I feel awful." She pointed out. Riley stopped looking around the apartment and her eyes landed back on Monica, and she immediately shook her head, as though she had just offended her or something.

"No, no, don't take that the wrong way. Oh geez, I have to be careful how I say things sometimes. Don't feel bad, trust me, _this_ is so much better." Riley explained. Monica puckered her brow. No, she hadn't understood what in the world Riley was talking about. How could a small two-bedroom apartment in New York City be better than a huge mansion? Teenagers. They hardly made any sense at all.

Rachel and Ross took off right after dinner to make their movie, Phoebe had to go home and call her brother Frank Jr., and Chandler and Joey wanted to watch Baywatch which they taped earlier. Monica was left alone with Riley.

Riley had to use the washroom and Monica was clearing up, thinking about everything that had happened that day. Riley hadn't been very shy, or rude, or even evasive. She had laughed at their jokes, even _Chandler's, _she listened to all of them when they told her about their jobs, their lives, their relationships, but the only thing was that she hardly said two words about her own. Monica hoped that would come in time. It was, after all, only her first day.

Still, what was Jodi talking about? Riley rebellious? Monica just couldn't see it.

Riley came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and shyly came back into the kitchen. It seemed more awkward now, it being just the two of them. It was so easy when there were five other people in the room. Now, Monica had no idea what to say to this kid.

But it was Riley who spoke first.

"Can I help you clean up?"

Monica nearly fell over. In all the years she lived in this apartment, with Rachel as her roommate, with her friends coming over for meals, nobody had _once_ asked if they could help her clean up, and here was a complete stranger, a _teenager_, no less, offering to help.

Monica turned and looked at her with a smile.

"Really?" She asked. Riley nodded with a shrug.

"Well yeah, if I'm going to be staying here, I should at least pitch in _somewhere._" She said, surprised at Monica's surprise. Monica snorted.

"Kid, Rachel's lived here for a long time and she doesn't pitch in anywhere." She smiled. "But if you want to help, you're more than welcome to."

Riley went straight to work, piling plates and scraping leftover food into the garbage can. It was difficult for Monica to let someone else help clean her kitchen. She had a system, and Riley wasn't exactly following it. Monica wanted to tell her all the right ways to clean the kitchen, but she was just surprised the girl even _wanted_ to help. _Yeah don't go and ruin that with all your OCD tendencies._ Her inner voice told her.

While Monica washed the dishes and Riley dried, Riley started speaking again.

"I wanted to thank you, by the way." She said, after a moment's silence. Monica glanced sideways.

"For what, letting you clean? Trust me, you never have to thank me for that. Oh, but uh, that plate actually goes in _this_ cupboard" She redirected Riley to the cupboard over the sink.

"No, I mean for, you know, letting me stay here and all." Riley said quietly, as she put the plate in the right place. She never looked at Monica, and Monica noticed. There was hurt in those eyes, Monica could see it. She wanted to say something, but Riley kept on talking.

"I mean, my mother, she was going to send me to an all-girl's boarding school otherwise." She pointed out. Monica smiled and looked over at Riley.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't just let _that_ happen, could I?" She waited until Riley was looking up at her, and then she made a face. "I mean, _ew._"

Riley laughed and Monica joined her. Riley, still giggling, shook her head.

"I mean, I don't even know what my mom is _thinking_ 95% of the time!"

"Do you and your mom get along alright?" Monica froze. The question escaped from her lips before she even had time to consider whether or not she should ask it. She immediately felt like an idiot. Why even ask? What did _she_ think? What a stupid question, of _course_ they didn't get along. If they did, would Jodi have really shipped off her only daughter to a practical stranger?

Riley was immediately silent and Monica felt horrible. Not knowing what to say to make it better, or even how to change the subject, she started talking about her mother.

"My mom criticizes me all the time," she started, noticing Riley's sudden curiosity out of the corner of her eye. "My dating life, my lack of a job, my cooking, my weight, oh you name it, and she's not happy with it. I don't know if it's because she expects me to be this perfect person, or if it's because she just wants to live her life vicariously through me, you know, see things in me she's never been able to accomplish herself, I don't know. I've gone through all the possibilities in my head, but I know I'll never please her, you know, make her proud." Monica couldn't believe how open she was being about her own life, what was bringing this about? Maybe she thought Riley could relate? Well, maybe she could, Monica didn't know - Riley had hardly said two words about her mother, and the look on her face that came up whenever she was mentioned, well, Monica guessed there was a lot more going on between Jodi and Riley than Jodi was letting on.

Riley seemed to loosen up a little, hearing Monica talking about her own mother. Sighing, she focused her attention on the dishes, and started talking.

"It's funny how we joke about how horrible an all-girl's boarding school would be, but to be honest with you, even _that_ beats staying with my mom. I know, isn't that stupid?" She laughed, but obviously it wasn't funny.

"So...you and your mom...I guess you don't get along?" Monica phrased it as more of a question, nervous to ask, but Riley brought up the conversation topic.

Riley shook her head.

"No," she said simply. "We never have. But then, I guess it doesn't really help that I never really saw her, ever. I mean, yeah, I grew up rich practically. Mom won some lottery when I was really little, so it was really easy for her just hire nannies throughout my life. They took care of me, you know fed me, took me to school, all that kind of stuff. I never saw mom, not really. Her lifestyle isn't one like other mom's I know. She goes out with her friends, you know, clubbing, drinking, meeting random guys at the bars, bringing them home. She's always been that way, I don't even know who my dad is, not like I care or anything, but yeah, that's how it's always been, but since I've been 13, she stopped hiring nannies, thinking I was old enough to take care of myself and everything. She just can't stand being a mom, I mean it's _so_ obvious. It's like it hurts her brain or something. I just say two words to her and she freaks out, you know, yells and spazzes out and then goes clubbing or something. I mean, whatever, but she shouldn't have had a kid if she didn't want to be a mother." Riley never looked up, and she talked as though she didn't care, but Monica could see she did, how could she _not?_

Now everything was beginning to make sense. They had wrongly pegged Riley, that was for sure. She had gone and believed Jodi's story about Riley, about her being a bad, rebellious teenager who listened to nobody. But here in Monica's kitchen was a girl who was friendly, open and honest and _helping her with the dishes!_ She was nothing like a rebel. So unless Riley was telling lies, the problem wasn't with Riley, but with Jodi. This wasn't a rebellious teenager, she was a young girl who never had her mother's attention. If Riley _did_ act out at home, it was probably only to gain some kind of attention from her absent mother. How could she not want to be noticed in a house that big?

As they finished up the kitchen, Monica was glad she had said yes, after all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Riley had retired for the evening. She said goodnight to both Monica and Rachel and disappeared in Monica's, well, and Riley's now, bedroom for the night. Rachel was out on the balcony, designing some new fashions while Monica sat and watched television for a while, not even really watching what was on. She was still thinking about her conversation with Riley while they had done the dishes. Monica had heard a small snapshot into Riley's life, but it made her feel better to know Riley didn't seem to be anything like what her mother had described her as. Monica began to feel at ease, like this was going to be a piece of cake after all.

Turning off the television, she decided to join her best friend out on the balcony. She tiptoed past her room, hoping not to wake Riley, she did, after all, begin school the next morning.

Quietly, Monica crawled through the window that led to the balcony and smiled as Rachel looked up from her sketchpad.

"Hi Mon." Rachel greeted. Monica smiled, looking out over the city of New York.

"Hey Rach." She replied. "So, what do you think of Riley?" Rachel smiled.

"Oh, she's such a sweetheart. I mean, I gotta say, she really shocked me. I was expecting this kid who'd sulk and swear and break some expensive china, not like you have any, but you know what I mean. I even kind of froze when I saw the way she was dressed, you know, the skull on her shirt and everything. I thought, oh we're in for it now. But man, she proved us all wrong. What a good kid. I think Jodi must be on crack or something." She replied. Monica nodded.

"I know what you mean. I've been panicking all this time about how to accept a teenager who breaks all the rules, but, I mean, she helped me with the _dishes!_ A kid like that can't be bad news." She pointed out, taking a seat on a lawn chair next to Rachel.

"It is only her first day though." Rachel said, shrugging. "I'm not saying she'll do a 180 and turn into monster kid overnight, but I guess we can't count our chickens before they hatch. Anything could happen."

"That's true, but just from the way she talks about her mother, well, there's more there than I had thought. I think it will be different here, away from her mom. I think if we just spend time with her, you know, get to know her a little, nothing will go wrong. Sure, it won't always be easy, but I don't think it will be as hard as we thought. I think she's a good kid who came from a place where she was constantly ignored by her mom. She probably just wants nothing more than to be noticed. We just need to be her friend. That's easy enough, isn't it?" Monica asked. She swallowed. Would it be as easy as all that? It sounded easy now, but Rachel was right, it _was_ only Riley's first day. Anything could happen.

Rachel noticed the uncertainty written on her best friend's face.

"Mon?" She asked. "Are _you_ ready for this?" She was quiet as she waited for Monica to reply.

Monica breathed out.

"I don't know. I mean, it's a tricky situation, isn't it? My mom and dad picked me to do it because they figured I've always wanted children of my own and since I don't have a job right now, heck, I've got all the time in the world to do this. It's just hard, I don't want to be a mother to Riley. I mean, she's only like 10 years younger than me, that would just be _weird!_ But I think I need to figure out how to be both a friend and a guardian, I guess. That sounds so strange. But how can you be a friend, but also someone who makes and enforces rules? I can't just let her do anything she wants, where would be the point in that?" She swallowed hard, realizing all of this for the first time and feeling slightly intimidated by it all. Rachel put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Mon, it's gonna be okay. It's not like you have to do it all by yourself. We're all here, willing to help and lecture and discipline, or whatever." She laughed a little. "You're not alone in any of this, okay?" Monica smiled and nodded, grateful to have such wonderful friends, helping her. It gave her confidence to know that even if she screwed up, one of them might not, and even if they all screwed up, at least they all screwed up together.

* * *

Monica and Rachel continued talking for a little while when Monica decided she should also get to bed. She wanted to make sure she was up in the morning to see Riley off to her first day at school. She said goodnight to Rachel and brushed her teeth. Making sure she was quietly tiptoing, she carefully opened the door to her room and walked inside.

But Riley wasn't asleep. The light was still on and Riley was sitting cross-legged in bed, hunched over a sketchbook, pencil in hand. Riley looked up and smiled.

"Hi." She said quietly. Monica smiled.

"Hey." She replied, coming in and sitting on her own bed, only inches away from Riley's. "I thought you'd be sleeping." Riley shook her head.

"No, it was still a bit early for me." She replied, looking down at the pad in front of her. Monica puckered her brow.

"What are you doing?" She wanted to know. Riley shrugged.

"Just sketching." She replied.

"You draw?"

"Yeah, well, at least, I try to, I don't know, I'm not that good or anything, it's mostly just for fun."

"Can I see?" Monica was hesitant in asking. She knew a lot of artists and some of them were very superstitious in showing off their work before it was finished.

But Riley didn't look upset, in fact, she looked confused as she looked at Monica seriously.

"You...you want to see it?" She asked. Monica nodded.

"Yeah, why not?" She replied. Riley bit her lip, looking at her picture for a moment before she responded.

"Well, it's just, nobody's ever asked to see my stuff before." She sighed. "My mother thought art was a waste of time. She always thought I should be doing something useful, like violin or whatever." Monica smiled.

"My mom was the same way. I always wanted to be a chef, but my mother thought I should get into interior design, or fashion or something successful, but she never really understood that what mattered most to me was to cook." She replied. Riley smiled a little, and after a few seconds of considering, passed the open sketchbook to Monica.

Monica looked at the pencil sketch in front of her and realized right away that Riley was sketching the chrysanthemums on Monica's dresser. She had captured them so well, they were _beautiful._ She hadn't expected Riley's art to be like this - it was phenomenal!

"Riley, wow! This is...this is fantastic! I mean, you've got some real talent here, have you ever considered taking an art class?" Monica asked, looking up at Riley, whose cheeks turned slightly pink. Her lips curled into a small smile.

"Well, no, but I've always wanted to. I mean, I'd love to learn more about art, I mean, everything I do is just off the top of my head. I always wanted to take classes, but my mom was against the whole idea." Riley replied. Monica smiled, passing Riley back her book.

"Well, we should look into it and see what New York has to offer." Monica said. Riley didn't respond, but she smiled widely, and Monica could tell Riley was just as eager to find out.

Monica turned and pulled back her covers, hung her clothes up in the closet, took some new ones out for the next day. She could hear Riley putting her stuff away, no doubt getting ready for bed as well. In all the shuffling and readying, Monica heard Riley's voice through the noise.

"I'm sorry I'm here." She said suddenly. Monica turned and saw Riley hugging her knees, looking down sadly. "I'm sorry about my mom just shipping me off, I'm sorry you got stuck with me, and I'm sorry I'm, you know, like taking over your room, your life. It must suck."

Monica breathed out and sat down on her bed, looking at Riley seriously.

"Look, it's okay. I mean, I'll admit, it was weird at first, you know, when I found out about it. Heck, I didn't even know Ross and I _had_ a cousin, so I was definitely shell-shocked for a while." She said honestly. Riley broke into a small smile.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn't know I had cousins either." She replied.

"Listen, if we can learn anything from this situation, it's that our family is messed up! But hey, I'm cool with you being here. Okay?" Monica asked. Riley smiled a little and nodded.

"Okay, so quit worrying about it, you've got school tomorrow anyway." Monica laughed a little and Riley did too, groaning slightly and rolling her eyes as she got under her covers. They said their goodnights and Monica went to sleep feeling at peace with their new living arrangements.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Monica was up early the next morning, long before Riley was up, but then, Monica couldn't sleep very well the night before. She had been tossing and turning since around 3 a.m., anticipating Riley's first day of school. There was so much in the air - had everything gone through smoothly in registering her? That had been her mother's job, had it all gone through? How would Riley get there? Was there a school bus? Did Riley know all of this?

Monica had half a mind to wake Riley up and ask her, but she decided to let the girl sleep. Hopefully she would know what was going on. After all, she had gotten herself to New York without any problems, even at 16. Surely, she'd know what she was doing for school.

Now, Monica was up, scurrying around the kitchen, trying to get stuff ready for Riley. She'd never had to get a teenager for school before. What was she supposed to do? Should she wake her up? Had she set an alarm for herself? Was her bag all ready to go? Did she need a lunch?

When it was 7:30a.m., Monica considered banging on the door to wake Riley up, but before she could, the bedroom door opened and Riley came out with a pile of clothes and a towel. She was still in her pajamas. She caught Monica's eye.

"Do you mind if I use your shower?" She asked politely. Monica smiled.

"Sure, go ahead." She replied. Riley smiled and went into the bathroom. Monica checked the clock. No, there was still time. School didn't start until 8:45a.m. There was time, Monica had to keep telling herself. Don't panic.

She decided to busy herself around the kitchen and make a lunch for Riley. Then, she panicked. What did Riley like to eat? Well, she was in the shower, how was she supposed to ask?

"Okay, Monica, _come on!_ It's a high school lunch, not the senior prom!" She clapped her hands together and started making a lunch for Riley. As she did, she heard the water turning off in the bathroom and Monica checked the time again. 7:45a.m. Okay, there was still time. She had an hour to get to school. Breathe, Monica, breathe.

Monica put out $20 in case Riley needed to take a cab to school. Monica didn't know what to do, she was scrambling, and that was putting it mildly.

Not long after the water turned out, Riley walked out of the bathroom with wet hair. Monica looked up and immediately noticed Riley's attire. Baggy black jeans with a long sleeved blue shirt with a silver skull in the middle. Her shoes were the same black skater shoes she wore coming in and she wore a green belt. Monica shuddered to herself. Her and Rachel had always been very conscious about dressing to impress, and here was a 16-year-old girl, on her _first_ day of school, dressed like that. Monica didn't understand, but she wasn't going to say anything.

Riley went into the bedroom and came out several minutes later with a black backpack strung over her shoulder. Monica checked the time. It was 8 a.m. She breathed out. They were still doing alright.

"Are you ready for school?" Monica asked, probably a little too eagerly. Riley shrugged.

"Sure. I mean, I have everything, if that's what you mean." She replied.

"Do you want some breakfast?" Monica asked, mentally smacking herself for not having thought about breakfast earlier. She could have already had something made. Riley shook her head.

"No thanks, I'm not a breakfast person." She replied. Monica stared at her.

"Really? You're not going to eat anything?" She asked.

"No, my mom wasn't huge into breakfast, so it just became habit for me. I mean, I usually grab a snack during morning break, so it's no big deal." Riley plopped her bag on the ground and started rummaging through it, making sure she had everything. Monica couldn't help but be nosy as she peered over the table. Yes, the girl had binders, pencils, a calculator, even a homework planner. Riley looked up and caught Monica looking and she kind of laughed.

"Don't worry, I have everything I need." She pointed out. Monica laughed awkwardly.

"I _know._ I was just...well I was just admiring your backpack." She lied. Riley nodded, obviously not buying it as she stood up.

"Well, I'm gonna head out now, so I can find my classrooms and all that stuff." She said. Monica flew from her spot, not even noticing Rachel emerging from her own bedroom, watching the whole thing.

"Do you know where the school is? I mean, I'm sure you've got the address, but just in case, I wrote it out for you and drew a map." Monica handed her a piece of paper. "Oh, and here's some money for a cab, I wasn't sure if there was a bus or not, so I figured you could just take a cab, there's enough there for a ride there and back later. Don't forget the address, and make sure the cab guy knows where the school is. You know the name of the school?" Riley nodded. "Okay, oh here, I made you a lunch to bring." Monica shoved a paper bag forward. "I know it's a little heavy, but I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I made three sandwiches. There's a ham, a turkey and a peanut butter. And a few granola bars, oh and an apple and a banana." Monica ignored Rachel's snorting laughter as Riley nodded, blushing a little.

"Um, thanks Monica, that's all real nice of you. But uh, I kind of already bought a bus pass for New York, and mapped out the cities' bus routes and transfers. The number 6 goes straight past the school, so that`s the one I have to take. It comes right outside your building. And lunch, well, I usually just buy my lunch at school with the money my mom gives me every week. She's still wiring money into my bank account, so that's all taken care of. But hey, I'd love to take your lunch, since you made it for me. That's really nice of you. I don't know how I'll decide which sandwich to eat, though, I like all three." Riley explained. Monica stared at her, wide-eyed and felt a pang of guilt and also relief. Here she was panicking about getting a teenager ready for her first day of school, and she was more prepared than she was. And so easy, and polite. Monica couldn't believe it.

"Well, thanks." Monica said, watching Riley put the paper bag in her backpack and couldn't help but wonder how this girl became so independent. As Riley closed up her backpack, Monica sadly realized the reason why Riley was so independent so young was because her mother was never there for her, was never there to do these things for her. Riley had no choice but to become independent. What else could she do?

"Okay, I'm gonna go now." Riley said suddenly, and Monica sprung forward again.

"Okay, bye, are you sure you'll be okay? Just be careful on the bus, alright? And call if anything goes wrong. Here, I'll write down my phone number." She started writing out a number while Riley puckered her brow.

"Um, thanks, but what could go wrong?" She asked. Monica looked up and saw Riley, standing there all ready to go and completely independent. She breathed out, smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Riley, this is new for me. I'm just overprotective I guess." She replied. Riley smiled.

"You don't have to be overprotective of me. I've been kinda taking care of myself for years." She said, and with a final goodbye, she left the apartment. Monica let out a sigh and sat down, staring at the door. Rachel came and sat next to her.

"Mon, she's right. You can let up a little, she's 16. You don't want to smother her." She pointed out. Monica sighed.

"Yeah, I know. It's just new for me." She replied. After a moment's silence, Rachel piped up.

"Hey, was it just me, or did you notice...what Riley was wearing?" She seemed taken aback and Monica jumped up, glad someone else noticed her lack of fashion.

"I know!" She exclaimed, a phrase characteristic of Monica. "Maybe it's too early to indoctrinate her in fashion sense, but yeah, definitely not first-day-of-school appropriate."

"Not _any_ day appropriate."

"Maybe we're just being harsh, I mean,she _is_ just a teenager."

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Did _you_ ever dress like that as a teenager?"

"No, but maybe that's today's fashion. Maybe we need to look into this a little more before we judge her too harshly."

"Okay, but I'm thinking eventually we're going to have to teach her about fashion and makeup, because if her mom's never really been there in her life, who else is gonna teach her?"

Rachel had a point, Monica thought.

* * *

Riley, despite Monica's paranoia and fear, was having a great first day at school. It was already lunchtime, and Riley was sitting with her new friend, Erin, whom she'd met during first period. The two already discovered how much they had in common. They both had the same style of clothing, baggy pants, armbands, skater shoes, and so on. That was what had caught Riley's attention the most, but Erin had also confided her love for skateboarding, which was a secret passion of Riley's. Now, the two were sitting in the cafeteria, sharing their favourite tricks with each other.

"So how long have you been skating for?" Erin asked. Riley shrugged.

"A few years, I guess. My mom was super against the whole idea. She wanted me to invest in 'worthwhile' things. I bought my skateboard when I was 13, and had to hide it, skating only at the park, because my mom would have taken it. She eventually found out I had it, she even refused to let me bring it to New York with me, but I snuck it in my suitcase anyway." She replied, smirking as she took a sip of Pepsi. Erin laughed.

"You rebel. Okay, so...remind me again how you ended up in New York." She said. Riley laughed.

"I know, it's weird. I'm staying with my cousin Monica, who I just found out about like a week ago, and her roommate, Rachel. My mom was fed up with me so it was either get shipped off to Monica's, the random cousin, or to an all-girl's boarding school. My cousin saved my neck on that one."

"No kidding! Geez, I can't even imagine boarding school, let alone an all-_girl's _boarding school. I'd have to shoot myself."

"Luckily I didn't have to worry about it." Riley smiled, secretly glad she wasn't being judged on her random living situation. She had to admit, she was slightly fearful about people's reactions, but Erin didn't care, she simply continued talking about her own skateboard while Riley listened. She was grateful to be fitting in, not just at school, but at her new home too. She was beginning to feel at home in New York City, and had the feeling she was going to really enjoy her time here.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Riley took the bus home from school that day, backpack heavy-laden with new homework and feeling fairly exhausted. She was already dreading the English paper that was due next week, the one her new teacher gave her no grace on, even if she _was_ a new student. Riley guessed those things didn't matter to New York teachers. Who was she kidding? Teachers everywhere were the same.

Sighing, she hopped off the bus outside of the apartment buildings and headed in with the new key Monica had given her. This would take some getting used to, she thought. From living in a mansion to an apartment, well, it was an adjustment, but, she kept telling herself, living with her older cousin was much better than living in a dorm room with other high schoolers, probably cheerleaders. Riley shuddered and headed up to her floor, and entered her new home.

She very nearly jumped out of her skin when Rachel and Monica jumped up from their places on the sofa and ran over to Riley with a million questions.

"Are you okay?"

"How was your first day of school?"

"Were the kids nice to you?"

"Do I need to beat anybody up?"

"Did you find all your classrooms okay?"

"Are your teachers nice?"

"Did you make any friends?"

"Boys! What about boys?"

"I swear, if anybody was mean to you-"

"Woah!" Riley laughed a little, dropping her backpack to the floor. "It was school, not a battle zone. "School was fine, I mean, for what it is, right, it _is_ school. I mean, except for art class, that's pretty cool, I think I'm going to like that. English, well, that's gonna be a pain in the neck, I suck at grammar, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, academics are all fine and dandy," Rachel interrupted, grabbing Riley's arm and leading her in to sit down. "Not interested, though. Seriously, I wanna hear about the, well, selection." Rachel smiled from ear to ear as Monica sat down too, smiling just as corny. Riley puckered her brow.

"Um...selection?" She inquired. Was this some kind of secret code for something?

Monica and Rachel exchanged glances and looked back at Riley.

"Boys!" Rachel exclaimed. "We want to hear about the boys!"

Riley caught on and then shrugged.

"Oh, well, I don't know, I didn't really notice, I wasn't paying attention, I guess. Oh, but I did make a new friend today, whose name is Erin." She replied.

"A boy?" Monica and Rachel asked simultaneously, leaning forward. Riley shook her head, puckering her brow.

"No, she's a girl." She laughed when Monica and Rachel sat back, dejected. "Well anyway, Erin's pretty cool. We have a lot in common. Oh, you know, she skates too, and she told me about this cool skateboard park in the city." She noticed Monica and Rachel were still looking kind of disappointed.

"What?" She rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Are you disappointed because I didn't talk to any boys? Oh come _on!_ Who cares, they're _only_ boys."

She must have hit a nerve, because both Monica and Rachel jumped up from their chairs and stared down at Riley as though she were carrying the black plague itself.

"_Only _boys?" Rachel exclaimed loudly. "Dear girl, have _you_ got the wrong idea."

"Riley, you're _16!_ You're in the prime of your youth!" Monica added. Riley raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"The _prime_ of my youth?" She snorted. "Seriously?"

"When I was your age, all I wanted to _do_ was date!" Monica continued, ignoring Riley's giggles. "But no boy wanted to go out with me because I was fat."

"_You_ were fat?"

"Look, it doesn't matter! My point is, you should take advantage of dating while you can."

"Yeah, oh and 16 is the perfect age!" Rachel added. "Yeah, because hey, before you know it, you'll be in your senior year, and you know what that means!" Rachel smiled widely, staring at Riley, waiting for her to pick up on what she was thinking. Riley only stared at her blankly. Rachel dropped the grin and sighed.

"Prom! Riley, _senior prom!_ Girl, you will end up completely dateless at prom if you don't start shopping now." She lectured. Riley puckered her brow.

"Shopping?" She asked. "Seriously?"

"Yes! Didn't your mom tell you _any_ of this?" Monica asked, and she immediately stopped herself, feeling guilt overwhelm her as she stared at Riley, who only raised an eyebrow. _Yeah, stupid, sure her mom tells her about boys. This is the same mother who had no problem shipping her kid off to an all-girl's boarding school._

"Okay, listen," Monica continued, hoping to jump over that small hurdle, pretend as though she hadn't just foolishly said that, "it's good to go on dates, Riley. Put yourself out there a little, mingle with the boys, flirt." Riley shifted in her seat.

"I don't know." She said cautiously. "I'm not really sure I'm ready for boys yet, I mean I-"

"We can help you!" Monica and Rachel exclaimed excitedly.

"But-"

"Okay, we need to have a girl's night."

"Yeah with Phoebe!"

"We can make it a sleepover!"

"I'll call her right now."

"But it's a school night." Riley pointed out as Monica and Rachel dashed for the telephone. She laughed as she watched them call Phoebe. Yes, living with her cousin was going to be nothing like living at home.

* * *

Phoebe arrived that evening already donned in her eccentrically pink pajamas and a box of popcorn.

"Sorry I didn't have time to pop it already, but hey, I don't have a microwave!" She announced, setting to work at Monica's microwave. Riley was sitting on the couch, reading her English textbook when Phoebe arrived, and seconds later, Monica and Rachel each emerged from their rooms, wearing their pajamas.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked, motioning to the English book. Riley looked up and laughed a little.

"Um, homework?" She suggested. Rachel shook her head and turned to Monica for support.

"You do realize as my legal guardian or whatever you are right now, you have a responsibility to make me do my homework." Riley added, flashing a grin. Monica raised an eyebrow.

"If that's true, I also get to tell you what to do, and I'm telling you to do your homework in the morning. Get up early or something, but we are having this sleepover to educate you on the fine art of the opposite sex, which is just as important as school." She breathed out. "Now go get your pajamas on!"

Riley snorted and jumped up to go to her bedroom. Monica was sure she heard something about "...mom would never have...." and she wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not.

While Riley was getting changed, Monica pulled Rachel and Phoebe together while the popcorn was popping.

"Okay, this is a big night for us, girls. It's our chance to pass down our wisdom to the next generation." Monica said, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

"But she's only like 10 years younger than us." Phoebe pointed out.

"Still! She's not even _interested_ in boys. It's our responsibility to change that! Look, she came here instead of an all-girl's boarding school. If she doesn't date, she might as well have been there anyway!" Monica argued.

"Yes, this is a big night, it could change Riley's whole life!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Okay, so here's the thing: we've all been through a lot romantically, right? So we have a lot of stories and stuff. _But_, remember, we can't be _overly_ open about our experiences. I mean, Riley _is_ only 16, which means our sex lives are out of the question!" Monica laid out the rules. Rachel agreed and Phoebe sighed out dreamily.

"Wow, this is so _exciting!_ I've never talked romance and dating with a teenager before. You're right, Monica, this _is_ our chance to impart our knowledge to our next of kin in womanhood." She said happily. Rachel puckered her brow.

"Phoebe, don't you and Frank Jr. talk about romantic stuff? Doesn't your brother tell you about his love life or anything?" She asked. Phoebe rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right, Frank's got about the emotional capacity of a teaspoon."

"Well, it seems like Riley's not that far off from Frank." Monica pointed out. "But at least she has us to teach her the ways of womanhood. Clearly, her mother failed, and we have to pick up the slack!

"By the time we're through with Riley Morgan, she'll be a lean, mean, flirting machine!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

It wasn't long before Phoebe, Rachel, Monica and Riley were sprawled out on make shift beds that lined the living room floor. Monica was a little skiddish about the fact that they had to move the coffee table to make room for that fourth body. Normally, whenever the girls had nights like this, there was enough room without moving the coffee table, but now, well, Monica would get over it.

They had just started snacking on the popcorn when the apartment door swung open and in walked Joey and Chandler, smiles spread across their faces.

"Hey, we smelled popcorn and figured you ladies were gonna be watching a movie or something." Chandler announced.

"You must have forgotten to invite us or something, so, here we are!" Joey added as he jumped over the back of the sofa and landed hard, shoving his hand into the popcorn bowl. Chandler was just about to sit down beside him when Rachel and Monica jumped up and promptly chased them to the door. Riley and Phoebe had to stifle their giggles when they saw the looks of pure confusion and fear on the guys' faces.

"I kind of feel bad." Riley pointed out, still giggling a little. "Kicking them out like that."

"Oh whatever, they kick us out every time they watch Baywatch." Phoebe added. Riley shrugged and waited for Monica and Rachel to slam their apartment door and head back to their sleeping bags.

"Well, I made sure they won't be bothering us again." Rachel said proudly.

"How'd you do that?" Phoebe asked.

"I just told him the truth - that we were talking about girly stuff. Well, Joey wanted to stay, he said he wanted to hear the low-down on women, but when I threatened to never make him a sandwich again, he left. And Chandler, well you know, commitment issues, so he was already in his apartment before I could say two words more." Rachel replied with a laugh.

* * *

It didn't take long before Phoebe, Rachel and Monica went into their life stories beginning with high school about guys they had dated, relationships that had gone sour, what they had learned from them, what they found attractive in men and what turned them off entirely. Riley listened quietly without ever interrupting as she munched on her popcorn, eager to hear their stories and accounts. She had never heard things like this before, it wasn't as though her mother ever shared her dating stories with her daughter, Riley only knew what she saw.

"Right now, I'm dating a guy named Richard, you'll meet him soon, and Riley, he's the most fantastic guy I ever met!" Monica announced.

"Except for the fact that he's as old as her father." Phoebe pointed out.

"Ew, really?" Riley asked.

"Richard doesn't _act_ old, though, I don't know, he's caring, and loving, and he treats me with respect." Monica replied.

"Yeah, Ross is the same way, and he's not bad in bed either." Rachel said without thinking and in a second, Monica was glaring at her with heat behind her eyes. Rachel felt her cheeks reddening and Riley watched while she tried to hold in her giggles.

"Anyway!" Monica exclaimed. "Our point in all of this is to show you how fun it can be to date. Even though some of the guys I've dated have been complete idiots, it's always fun to have guys noticing you and taking you out."

"Yeah, and who knows who you could meet. You could end up dating some really rich guy who buys you a boat!" Phoebe added randomly. Riley cleared her throat.

"Yeah, I get what you're saying. I don't know, it's just never been something I've really thought about, not a lot anyway. It just seems like a lot of heartache that's not worth it. I mean, yeah it could turn out really great, but what if it doesn't? Is it really worth it to let yourself be hurt like that if you can just avoid it?" She wanted to know.

"Of course there can be pain, but there can also be really good things about relationships. Even though some of my past relationships ended in pain, like when I almost married Barrie, there's a lot of things that I still enjoy thinking about. Things that helped me become a better person." Rachel pointed out.

"It's all a learning experience, Riley. The more you date, the more you figure out what you like in guys and what you don't like and it makes the next guy easier to find." Monica added.

"Yeah, but I still think you should go for the guy with the boat." Phoebe pointed out.

"Um, what guy?" Riley asked.

"The one _you're _gonna date. Come on, I've already got my heart set on having a boat, so date a guy who will give you a boat, please?" Phoebe asked. Riley only laughed.

"I doubt there are any guys at my school who have a boat, but I'll keep looking." She said sarcastically, but Phoebe was satisfied she actually meant it.

"Maybe we should give you some pointers on flirting!" Rachel exclaimed, changing the subject.

"Yes, yes! You have to flirt, it's how you get a guy's attention." Monica added. Riley shrugged.

"Yeah I know, no big deal, my mom does that with everything male that moves." She said, laughing a little. "Then she invites them back to the house like two seconds after she meets them. Are you saying I should bring guys home with me?"

Monica was taken aback. Boy, her aunt was just a player, it seemed. She shook her head.

"No, Riley." At least, not bring a guy home in the same context as her mother did. Maybe for homework, but seriously. "What I mean by flirting is just making yourself known to the guys. Make them look at you. Flip your hair a little, swing your hips, smile, wink, stare at them and then play coy."

"Coy?"

"Yeah, pretend like you aren't interested." Phoebe clarified.

"That makes no sense, I thought the point was to get their attention." Riley was confused.

"Guys _love_ it when you play hard-to-get. You know, you go up to a guy, start flirting a little, ask him questions about his life, play with your hair, gaze into his eyes, and then pretend like you're not interested, walk away a little, and he'll chase you down." Rachel said, a dreamy glaze in her eyes.

"Yeah but what if he doesn't care, and thinks you're an idiot?" Riley asked.

"No guy is that big of an idiot." Phoebe guessed.

And so their conversation continued on into the night, more advice on flirting, examples from each of their own love lives (save Riley's) and pointers on the proper ways to flirt. They even had Riley do some role-playing, which ended up in fits of giggles and popcorn all over the place (to Monica's panic).

Eventually, Monica, Rachel and Phoebe fell asleep, but Riley lay awake, thinking over the conversations that had taken place that night. Sure, they had a lot of fun giggling and laughing at each other and themselves, but Riley truly did have a lot to think about that night. No, her mother had never had these kinds of conversations with her. Maybe dating wasn't as bad as it seemed. Maybe she could try flirting, maybe it could end up being fun.

Riley turned over and finally fell asleep, smiling, glad to have such wonderful people to impart their wisdom to her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

When Rachel and Monica awoke the following morning, they found both Phoebe's and Riley's blankets laying in a heap. Yawning, Monica stretched and got up, leaving Rachel to toss and turn a little more.

Phoebe was already in the kitchen donning her striped pink pajamas and making pancakes with a cheerful smile. Monica rubbed her eyes.

"Morning Pheebs." She greeted.

"Hey!" Phoebe exclaimed excitedly. "Want some pancakes?"

"Sure," Monica sat down. "Where's Riley?"

"Oh she's getting ready for school. Can you believe none of us thought to set an alarm for her to get up? Good thing she's organized, huh?" Phoebe pointed out, pouring some batter.

"She set an alarm?" Monica asked, feeling like she had failed once again. This taking care of a teenager thing was going to be harder than she imagined.

"Yeah, she's been up for a while. I got up at the same time, I figured I'd make some breakfast." Phoebe went back to making breakfast and Monica laughed at Rachel who finally got out of bed, groaning incoherently about something to do with coffee.

Moments later, plates were set and Phoebe was serving pancakes. Riley came out of hers and Monica's bedroom, her backpack slung over one shoulder, as she joined the girls at the table. Monica and Rachel immediately shared a glance again, as they took in Riley's second-day-of-school attire. This time, Monica's cousin wore baggy black cut-off pants and a dark green hoodie, and to top it all off, she wore a _baseball_ hat! Monica sighed and Rachel did the same. One thing at a time, Monica thought to herself. _First flirting, next wardrobe._

"Morning," Riley greeted as she accepted a pancake from Phoebe and began to consume it quickly. "I kind of have to eat fast, I told Erin I'd get to school a little early so we could hang out."

"That's perfect, it'll give you a chance to scope out the place!" Rachel exclaimed. Riley puckered her brow.

"For what?" She asked.

All three women sighed. Didn't Riley learn _anything_ from last night?

"For boys!" They all exclaimed. Riley rolled her eyes.

"Hey come on, we gave you all kinds of advice last night, this is the best time to act on it, while it's fresh in your mind!" Rachel announced.

"Yeah come on Riley, give it a shot, do a little flirting, try it out, play the field, you know?" Monica added. Riley shrugged.

"I dunno, it just seems a little soon, doesn't it? I mean, it _is_ only my second day of school!" She pointed out.

"So what's the big deal? You gotta do it before all the good ones are taken. Just do what Rachel said, flirt a little, then play coy. But _only_ if you see someone worth the effort. Remember: boat!" Phoebe added. Rachel ignored Phoebe and continued.

"Who cares if it's only your second day of school, there's no time to waste!" She stood and grabbed Riley's backpack as Riley finished the last of her pancake.

"Yeah, it's better if you get a move on now, you'll have lots of time before the bell rings." Monica took hold of Riley's arm and hoisted her from her spot.

"Um-" Riley tried.

"And if you meet a guy with a boat, I get first dibs to go for a ride. Remember me!" Phoebe, Monica and Rachel began pushing Riley toward the door.

"Yeah, but-"

"No time for talk, you can tell us everything when you get home from school later." Rachel slung Riley's backpack over her arm.

"Remember everything we said." Monica tossed Riley a bagged lunch.

"Flip the hair."

"Be sure and smile."

"But not too much."

"Make sure you play hard-to-get."

"Remember to flirt."

"Don't hold back."

Before she even knew what was happening, Riley was out the door with her backpack and lunch and feeling more overwhelmed than she ever had in her entire life.

* * *

"She better have a date by the end of the day, or else we've failed her." Rachel said, pointing at the closed door they just pushed Riley through. Monica swallowed.

"You don't think we were too, you know, _pushy_, do you? I mean, she has only been here for three days, I don't want her to think we're...weird." She confessed.

"Weird? Monica, we're doing her a favour. I mean, her mom didn't do her any justice in the dating department. Who else is gonna teach her these things? Come on, we saved her from an all-girl's boarding school, and if she doesn't date, then it's no different than that boarding school." Rachel pointed out. Monica believed her friend to be right, but it nagged at her. She wanted Riley to fit in and feel comfortable, but Rachel was right, she had to be. She only hoped Riley's day at school would be fruitful and that there would be incredible stories to hear when she got home.

* * *

Riley arrived at school earlier than usual, having been pushed out the door and able to catch an earlier bus, but she still found her new friend Erin waiting by her locker.

"You're early." Erin pointed out, giving Riley a smile. Riley nodded.

"Don't ask." She said as she fumbled her combination lock and shoved her backpack in her locker.

"Oh well, now I have someone to hang out with. My mom always sends me early because she's convinced if she doesn't drive me to school at the same time she has to go to work, I just won't go." Erin pointed out, with a laugh. "She's probably right. So, how was your night?"

Riley remembered the girls all huddled around in blankets and popcorn everywhere and all the talk about guys and relationships that was enough to make her head spin. She smiled slightly.

"Oh...interesting." She replied, unsure how else to describe it and continued when she noticed the look of 'please go on' by Erin. "Trust me, I couldn't explain it if I tried."

The girls sunk into a sitting position and began chatting about skateboarding tricks and techniques when the hallways began to fill up with more and more students. Riley couldn't help but hear Phoebe, Rachel and Monica inside her head. _It'll give you a chance to scope out the place. Remember everything we said._

Sighing, Riley couldn't help but watch all the new faces around her. She half-heartedly listened to Erin, who was talking about the first skateboard she ever owned. Riley sighed to herself, how did she even know what she was supposed to be looking for in a guy?

"Anyway, the only reason my parents even let me have a skateboard at eight years old was because my older brother had one, and I just whined and whined until I got my way, and...Riley, what are you looking for?"

Riley snapped out of her thoughts when she realized Erin was watching her as though she were insane. Riley quickly looked away and caught sight of a boy who looked to be close to her age. He was surrounded by friends, and his bleach blonde hair stood out among the crowd. Riley nodded her head toward him.

"Who's that?" She asked casually, pretending like she didn't care, but feeling as though she were doing a terribly poor job. Erin turned her head and followed Riley's gaze until she realized who she was looking at. Erin scoffed.

"Oh, that? That's Brett. He's the most popular guy in school. You know, student body president, jock, all that kind of stuff. He's a surfer, he goes to California every summer and comes back all tanned and blonde and buff and usually with a new girlfriend." Erin rolled her eyes a little, but Riley was still watching him, the way he interacted with his friends, the way his hair fell over his blue eyes, and he whisked them out of the way. She breathed out.

"Do...do you think he's cute?" Riley asked, knowing he was, but wanting affirmation from someone who might be more experienced in the matter. Why did this have to be so hard?

Erin just laughed.

"Girl, _everybody_ thinks he's cute. I mean, just _look_ at him!" She said as-a-matter-of-factly. Riley nodded, that was all the confirmation she needed. She tried to sort out everything the girls had said to her last night, and even this morning, and pulled out a few key concepts and tried to muster up some kind of courage. This couldn't be hard - he was a human being just like she was. She took a breath and turned to Erin.

"I'm gonna go talk to him." She announced.

Erin looked at her as though she was growing a second head.

"Come again?" She asked.

"I said, I'm gonna go talk to him." Riley repeated.

"Are you out of your mind?" She shook her head. "He won't give you the time of day!" Riley puckered her brow.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" She asked, a little too defensively.

"Look, I mean, no offense, but Brett doesn't give girls like _us_ any kind of attention." Erin said with a bit of a sigh. Riley raised an eyebrow.

"Girls like us?"

"Girls who aren't popular. I mean, sure, we're not _unpopular_, but we're not cheerleaders either. He only likes blondes and he only likes preppy girls. We are not pretty girls." Erin said, pointing out the obvious.

Riley pouted, but she didn't want to give up. She suddenly felt confident, hearing her cousin's voice inside her head, Rachel's voice and even Phoebe's, coaxing her, cheering her on. Riley suddenly felt very ready to try, and she stood up, looking down at Erin confidently.

"Well, maybe he'll change his mind with a little bit of flirting." With that, she started on a path toward Brett and his group of friends, ignoring Erin's face palm and muttering to herself about how stupid the whole idea was.

Riley walked right through the group of cheerleaders and jocks, and did her best to ignore the looks of attitude coming from the girls. She didn't want to look at them, she knew if she looked, she would grow self-conscious and immediately run away. No, she had to at least try.

"Hey." Riley managed as she approached Brett. At first, Brett didn't seem to hear her, so she said it again, a little louder, but still trying to sound cute, or flirty, or whatever. He finally turned and acknowledged her presence, but looked at her as though she were carrying the plague. She heard snickers coming from behind her.

Riley froze for a moment under the penetrating gaze from Brett's piercing blue eyes and felt her heart hammering hard in her chest, wildly trying to escape. _Think, think!_ She tried to remember what the girls had said, and, clearing her throat, she brought her finger to her hair and began to play with it, gently.

"I was just, uh, you know, sitting over there, and I saw you over here. I thought I'd just come by and say hello, you know?" She tried, twirling her hair, getting it stuck for a moment, and continuing.

Brett lifted an eyebrow at her and looked over to his two friends, who were holding in laughter, their faces turning beet red.

"Uh," Brett managed.

Before Riley knew it, the two boys exploded in laughter, and soon, all the cheerleaders, jocks and football players were roaring with laughter, and as Riley turned around to take it all in, she looked up and saw that Brett was laughing the most. It stung Riley like nothing else. This was a pain she'd never felt before, and it was _horrible!_

"What a loser!" She heard from one direction.

"Can you believe the nerve?" From another direction.

"_I thought I'd come by and say hello._" Someone mocked and laughter ensued once again. Riley swallowed hard, enduring it for only a moment before she tore out of the crowd and began to walk away, feeling the stab of tears stinging her eyes.

"Riley." Erin tried, but Riley didn't want to hear anything more. Quickening her pace to a run, she darted out of the school building, down the street, and just continued to run as fast as her legs could carry her, away from the laughter, away from the humiliation she had just put herself through.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Monica was cleaning up the last of the mess leftover from last night's sleepover, secretly wondering to herself if the popcorn kernels would ever come out of the carpet. She tried not to have a panic attack thinking about it.

Still, even though it would take a month to make her living room presentable again, she was glad they'd done it. Not only did she think it made Riley feel a little more comfortable about being here, but Monica felt as though they did some good, helping her with things her own mother wouldn't do. Monica couldn't help but admit she was proud of herself, proud of the other girls. She couldn't wait to hear how Riley's day had gone.

Just then, the telephone rang. Wondering who it could be, Monica grabbed the cordless and answered.

"Hello, is this, uh, Monica Gheller?" A voice on the other end asked. Monica puckered her brow.

"Yes." She replied.

"We have you listed as Riley Morgan's guardian, is that correct information?" Whoever it was sounded confused. Kids came from all kinds of weird situations nowadays, how could this be any weirder?

"Yeah, I'm her cousin, who is this?" Monica asked.

"I'm from Riley's school. I'm wondering where Riley is this morning. She never showed up for first period." The lady replied.

Monica felt her heart skip a beat as she played the words over in her head again. _She never showed up for first period._ Riley was skipping school? Or worse, had something happened.

Monica tried to catch her breath, find her voice.

"Uh, are you sure? I sent her off this morning, I saw her leave." She explained, trying desperately to sound like a good person, because of course she would know where Riley was, what kind of guardian didn't know these things.

"Yes, Miss Gheller, she's not here, I had her homeroom teacher confirm." The voice explained, obviously unimpressed. Monica took a breath and took herself to calm down. It would be okay.

She thanked the receptionist or whoever she was, promised she would have Riley to school tomorrow, and hung up the phone. Thousands of possibilities ran through her mind - she was kidnapped, she got lost, she took the wrong bus, she ran away from home, she got hit by a car, or worse, she was truly the rebellious teenager her mother had made her out to be, and everything Monica had seen so far had been a show.

Sighing, and hoping that wasn't truth, Monica picked up the phone and called each of her five friends, whether they were home or at work, and explained the situation, begging them to be on the lookout during their day, because Riley could really be anywhere.

Finally, grabbing her wallet and keys, Monica left the apartment and called a cab. First, she would trace the bus route, then she would look around the school, check the parks...well, she didn't have it all planned out, but she had to at least look.

* * *

Monica had been all over the place, spending quite a bit of money on cab fare, travelling to the school, tracing the bus route, going to a nearby park, and places she thought Riley might go, but what did she have to go on? She had spent all of two days with her cousin, it wasn't as though she had enough information to know where her key hangouts would be.

She couldn't help but wonder if Riley would call her mother, but Monica greatly doubted it. Riley hadn't really said anything positive about her mother since she'd arrive.

Finally coming back to her street, Monica decided she would grab a cup of coffee and head back up to her apartment to call everyone. Hopefully, at least one of her friends had seen Riley. Monica was really starting to worry.

She headed into Central Perk and ordered a coffee from Gunther. As she waited, she took in her surroundings, out of habit - she usually found at least one of her 5 friends here, and even though she knew they were all busy today, she couldn't help but look.

She was glad she did, for there on the couch that was usually occupied by her group of friends, sat Riley, sadly tapping at the foam in her macchiato.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Monica walked over and sat next to Riley. Riley looked up and immediately looked even more upset. Riley sighed and went back to poking at the foam.

"Riley, where have you _been?_ I've been worried all morning! Your school called and said you weren't there. I've been looking everywhere. I...I couldn't help but imagine the worst, I mean, I don't know, I have no way of getting a hold of you, I didn't know, and, I felt so helpless! Where were you?" Monica asked in a bit of a panic. She knew she was probably overreacting, but her heart was still hammering and her skin was still clammy from sweat.

Riley never looked up, she just bit her lip and replied silently.

"I was here, drinking coffee." She tapped the side of her mug. "This is my third."

"Did it occur to you that you live right upstairs? You know, you could have come home. Or at least told me why you decided to skip school." Monica tried to remain calm, and she was thankful Riley wasn't freaking out, but she had no idea how to handle a truant teenager. Monica never skipped school, _never._ She'd always been a keener.

"I know, I know I could've come upstairs, I just...I just needed to be alone, you know, think about things." Riley was so quiet, and she never looked up, but a closer look from Monica showed some streaks down her face. Riley had been crying.

Now things were different. She hadn't skipped school for nothing, she wasn't with any friends, she was here, alone, and obviously upset about something. Monica deduced rather quickly that something must have happened between her leaving the apartment this morning and her first period class.

Monica nudged over a little.

"What happened?" She asked, making sure she lowered her voice a little, trying to sound more concerned than upset.

Riley took a few minutes of silence and Monica let it stay silent. She didn't want to push her, but she didn't want to just leave either. Riley needed to know Monica supported her, cared about her, wanted to help her, but she would never push her. Besides, it wasn't like she knew _how._

Riley finally sniffled and confided it all to Monica, about her meeting with Erin this morning, about Brett and Riley's decision to try and flirt, and how horribly it had gone. Monica listened with a pang of guilt stabbing at her. This was her fault, hers and the girls. They had pushed Riley too far, pressured her into meeting someone and it resulted in Riley being humiliated in front of the kids at school. That was it, Monica vowed that moment, there would be no more pressuring Riley into things she wasn't ready for. Yes, Riley had tried to argue against it, but they pushed and this was on them.

Monica took a breath and forced herself to face her cousin.

"Riley, I'm sorry. The girls and I, we never should have pressured you into the things we did. We put far too much of an emphasis on this stuff, and it wasn't fair, and now you're upset. This is my fault, I'm sorry." She said. Riley just shook her head.

"No, this isn't your fault. It's mine. I'm independent, you know? You were just offering advice. I'm the one who decided to act on it. I shouldn't have done it, though. I should have known better than to just pick some random idiot!" Riley sighed loudly, and then looked up at Monica. "I hope it's okay, Monica, but really, I don't think I'm ready for this, the boy stuff I mean. I know it's important and all, but...well you know, I just moved here, and I guess I'm adjusting and...well, I just don't think I'm at a point in my life where I want to think about boys, at least, not all the time."

Monica smiled.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that, and again, I'm really sorry for pressuring you. I will try not to do it anymore. I'll talk to the others too." She apologized. Riley breathed out and then shrugged casually.

"No big deal." She gave a small smile. Monica smiled back, feeling relief and progress all at once.

"Alright, well, I'm glad you told me what happened, and I'm glad you're okay, but hey. I want to be your friend, cousin, whatever, but I have to be in charge too, which sucks, because I hate it." Monica said, getting a bit of a laugh from Riley. "But can you do me a favor? You know, if you decide you want to skip school again, can you at least call so I know where you are?"

Riley laughed.

"I promise."

And together, the two cousins finished their coffee before heading up and phoning the five friends to make sure they knew Riley was alright.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Hey all, thanks for your reviews! Sorry this chapter took a long time to write. You're the first to know on Fan Fiction: I'm working on a novel that's going to hopefully be published within the next year, so I've been spending a lot of my writing time working on that. This means updates might be few and far between, but I am not quitting Riley's story. Thank you all, and look for my name one day, for I shall soon be an author (I hope).

**Chapter Fourteen**

Riley was helping Monica clean up after dinner, while Rachel worked on some sketches for an upcoming fashion show she was hosting. Riley was surprised with how cool everyone was acting about her random disappearance from school. They even ordered a pizza for dinner. She once pulled the whole skipping school thing once with her own mother. Even though her mother hardly ever cared about what she did or said, that was one afternoon she dreaded repeating. She heard swear words she didn't even know _existed._

Monica was different.

The phone rang after dinner and Monica headed to answer it while Riley finished drying the last of the dishes.

"Hello?...oh yeah, just one sec." Monica held the phone out to Riley. "Riley, it's for you." Riley paled.

"It's not my mother, is it?" she asked, wide-eyed. Monica laughed, a little awkwardly.

"No, I think it's a friend of yours."

Riley dryed her hands quickly and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, it's me!" Erin's voice was loud on the other end. Riley pulled the phone away from her ear. "What's up with you? I mean, I figured you'd come back after Brett shrugged you off, but you never came back. But skipping the whole _day_? You must have gotten it!"

"No, it was no big deal, really. Monica didn't get mad. She's cool like that," Riley replied.

Monica smiled to herself, hearing bits and pieces of Riley's conversation. She strolled over to where Rachel was working in the living room. Monica leaned over the sofa, sighing happily.

"Hear that?" she asked, jabbing Rachel's shoulder. "I'm cool."

Rachel turned and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah okay," she said with sarcasm.

"No, seriously. I'm as young as I ever was. I'm up with these kids today," Monica added proudly.

"Uh, you mean _down_. You're _down_ with these kids, which, by the way, you're not." Rachel laughed to herself, and Monica pouted.

Meanwhile, Riley had hung up the phone and had scurried over to where Monica and Rachel were talking.

"Um, hey, is it okay if I go out with Erin?" she asked.

"Oh. Now?" Monica asked.

Riley nodded.

"Uh, sure, I guess. Yeah, it's alright."

"My homework's done."

"What?"

Riley smiled.

"Usually, you're not supposed to go out until you're homework's done," she explained. Monica laughed.

"Oh, right. Well, glad you've got it all under control." She smiled. "I'm a little rusty at this whole thing, you know. Not to mention...it's been a while since I was a teenager."

"Who you?" Rachel asked, sarcasm lining her voice. "Nah! You're up with the kids, remember?"

Monica glared at her.

"Okay anyway, uh, curfew?" Riley asked, grabbing her jacket off the back of the chair.

Monica bit her lip and shared a glance with Rachel. How late was _she_ allowed out as a teenager?

"Uh," she tried to think. "Well, what kind of curfew did your mother set?"

Riley laughed a little.

"She didn't," she admitted.

"Well, what makes you think I'll set one?"

Riley shrugged.

"Well, my mom sent me here to 'learn rules' or whatever."

Monica and Rachel laughed, and Riley joined them. It all seemed so ridiculous. Riley was such a good kid. Why in the world did _she_ need rules?

"Okay," Monica considered her options. "Is ten fair?"

Riley smirked.

"10:30?"

"Why even ask? Okay fine, 10:30. Just know that next time, I won't falter under pressure." Monica smiled.

"You call that pressure?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow. Monica hit her.

Riley said bye and left the girls alone, promising she had her key before she took off. Monica took a breath and lowered herself on the sofa beside Rachel, smiling.

"Can you believe that kid?" she asked.

"Well, she's nothing like I expected," Rachel replied.

"I _know!_ Here we are expecting this child of the corn and we get Riley instead. I don't get how Jodi saw her as this rebellious brat. What has she done that's been rebellious?"

"Well, she did skip school..."

"With good reason. You heard what that stupid prep boy did to her. If I ever meet him, I'll-"

"I get what you're saying. It's like her mom only sees the behaviour, but not the reasons _for_ the behaviour."

"Well." Monica paused. "Maybe it's best that Jodi sent her away, then. Riley deserves to be understood, not misunderstood."

"You're right, Mon." Rachel smiled. "And you're doing a terrific job so far."

* * *

Riley met Erin down in Central Perk, where they decided to meet. Erin only lived a few blocks away, so it was a perfect meeting spot, especially since Riley hardly knew her way around the city anyway.

After both ordering mocha lattes, they settled themselves on the long couch.

Riley ended up telling Erin all about the semi-sleepover with her cousin and the girls, and their ideas for flirting, which was exactly what drove Riley to talk to Brett in the first place. Erin laughed the whole time.

"Yeah, but they're _old!_" Erin said with a giggle. "Besides, the heck with boys! I've already decided I'm waiting for college. The pickings are slim in high school. Well, at least they are at _this_ high school."

Riley smiled.

"Yeah, and guys mature slower than girls, so technically, if we date now, we have to worry about dating fourth-graders." She replied.

The two friends laughed until tears streamed down their faces.

Once their mochas cooled, they sipped their drinks and discussed all the cool skateboard tricks, sharing with each other tricks of the trade they'd learned over the years.

Riley heard the door open and she turned to see Phoebe coming into the coffee shop, obviously disgruntled. Her face was all squished up, and she was muttering to herself. Riley had to laugh. Phoebe was definitely one of a kind.

Phoebe looked up and saw Riley, and her expression completely changed. She grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh hey Riley!" she exclaimed gleefully.

"Hi Phoebe." Riley turned to Erin. "This is my friend Erin, from school. Erin, this is Phoebe, a friend of Monica's."

"And _your_ friend too, thanks a lot!" Phoebe exclaimed with a laugh.

"Sorry," Riley replied. "So what's wrong, Phoebe? You looked a little out of sorts."

"Oh, that, yeah. Well, that guy Len? You know, random guy I told you about who asked me out? The guy who turned out to be a _dud?_ Yeah, well, it just _sucks_ because now I'm dateless, again!" Phoebe sighed melodramatically. "I mean, Ross and Rachel are out tonight, Monica's probably going to have Richard over, and Joey, well, it's _Joey!_ It's not fair!" Phoebe crossed her arms and plopped down on the couch next to Riley, pouting for good measure.

Riley shrugged.

"Don't worry, uh, now you can concentrate more on your music." She smiled. "Hey! You could even write a _song_ about it!"

Erin leaned over.

"You're a musician?" she asked Phoebe.

Well, that was enough incentive for Phoebe to cheer up. With a wide grin, she immediately began to brag about her musical achievements, her muses, her top ten favorite songs she'd written, when she'd started playing guitar, and soon, the three were giggling away and talking about music.

"I'm so jealous," Riley said suddenly. "I always wanted to play the guitar, but my mom made me learn violin instead. I mean, come _on_, what famous rock star plays the _violin!_ But no guitar! My mom said guitars were for hooligans!"

Phoebe's mouth went wide, and Riley knew she just got an idea. She had that spark in her eyes she'd come to recognize.

"Hooligan! Well, I'll show her!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Because _this_ hooligan is going to teach you how to play the guitar!"

Riley's eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Phoebe replied with a squeal. "It'll be so much fun! I can't wait, you'll be the perfect student!"

Too excited to sit still, Phoebe left, determined to tell everybody about her news. Riley was just glad to see her smiling again.

"Man, you're so lucky!" Erin exclaimed, finishing off her mocha and setting down her cup.

"Why?" Riley asked.

"Because, you get to hang out with all these cool people who aren't old enough to be parents who are uncool, but still old enough to have, you know, experienced _life_! It's super cool, man!" Erin explained.

Riley smiled to herself, realizing what Erin was saying. It was true. Monica was hardly strict at all, and it _wasn't_ like having the embarrassing parent around, it was like having a group of friends, who looked out for you. Erin was right, it _was_ cool. Riley couldn't be happier.


	15. Chapter 15

_a/n: Sorry guys, I know it's been a while since I posted. Life's been busy with the novel I'm writing, and I'm back in school now, so *sigh*. Still, Riley will continue, it just might be spaced out a little._

**Chapter Fifteen**

That night, after she said bye to Erin and headed back up to her apartment, Riley realized it was exactly 10:30p.m. She smiled to herself as she slipped her key through the apartment door and let herself in, expecting to find Monica and Rachel curled up on the sofa, watching a movie and munching on popcorn.

Well, Rachel was there, but she wasn't watching a movie, she was reading a magazine, wearing her pajamas and half falling asleep.

"Hey," Riley called as she dropped her keys on the counter and crossed the apartment. Rachel looked up and smiled.

"Hey, how was Erin?" she asked, closing up her magazine.

"Good," Riley replied, taking a seat on the couch. "I saw Phoebe too. She stopped by the coffee shop while Erin and I were hanging out."

"How was she?" Rachel wanted to know.

"Bummed. She was ticked about Len and mopey because she didn't have a date. Erin and I cheered her up and then Phoebe offered to teach me guitar!" Riley reported.

Rachel puckered her brow.

"Yep, that sounds like a Phoebe conversation," she said with a nod.

Riley looked around, noticing the absence of her cousin.

"Where's Monica?" Riley asked, yawning.

"Out for the night," Rachel replied quickly, grabbing at her magazine and burrowing her nose in it.

Riley wasn't stupid. Monica was with Richard, spending the night, and Rachel felt awkward telling her.

When she asked Rachel if she was right, she wasn't surprised that Rachel turned a shade of pink and replied with, "you didn't hear it from me."

Riley said goodnight and headed to her room, secretly happy to have a room to herself for a night. Sure, she would miss Monica, and her laughter before going to sleep, but sometimes it was nice to have a quiet place to think over things.

* * *

Saturday. Riley usually _hated_ Saturdays, especially because it was usually the day she was home, and her mother was home. That never boded well.

But this was different. Monica, Rachel and all their friends were _awesome_. Saturdays would take on a whole new feel.

Riley turned over and looked at the digital clock, realizing it was far too early to be up when she was allowed to sleep in, but too alert to fall back to sleep, she got up quietly, stayed in her pajamas and started cooking breakfast. She whipped up lots of pancakes, cut up some strawberries, put out boxes of cereal, scrambled some eggs, fried up some bacon...

Suddenly the door shot open and in ran Joey and Chandler, still in pajamas and unruly hair, staring right at Riley.

They paused, straightened and cleared throats.

Riley smiled.

"Smelled the food?" she inquired.

They nodded pitifully.

"Well, go ahead, there's lots."

It wasn't long before Joey and Chandler were scarfing down a good breakfast, and not long afterward, Rachel joined, hitting Joey for finishing her orange juice. As the four sat down, enjoying their breakfast over silly conversations and idle chit-chat, it wasn't long before Ross showed up, helping himself to a portion, and then Phoebe, who took everything but the bacon, because she was against eating meat.

"That strip used to be a _pig_, Riley!" she exclaimed. Riley suppressed a laugh as she scooped Phoebe's bacon onto Joey's ready plate.

"Oh guys, guess what?" Phoebe cried out excitedly as she took her place at the table.

Chandler opened his mouth to come up with some witty response, but everyone shot him a glare, and the silence encouraged Phoebe to continue.

"Frank Jr. is coming today!" she exclaimed, and everyone cheered their excitement for Phoebe. Riley, however, immediately felt out of the loop.

"Who's Frank Jr.?" she asked, taking her seat again after clearing the table.

"My little brother. Well, half-brother, actually. My dad was married to my mom but then, you know, he left her and then she killed herself, and I haven't seen him since, but then, when I went to go find him, I found his son from _another_ woman, and that's how I found out I had a brother!" Phoebe tried explaining.

Riley, however, simply stared at her blankly.

Phoebe shrugged.

"I have a bit of a messed up family," she said simply. Riley nodded.

"I get it. Don't worry, so do I."

Phoebe smiled.

"Hey! We should write a song about it!" She said. "I'm lookin' for new material these days."

As Phoebe and Riley began to brainstorm ideas for a new song (Riley was clueless, she'd never written a song, after all), Monica arrived, and dropped her purse on the counter as she said hello to everyone.

"Hey, who made breakfast?" she asked as she took a seat at the table.

"Riley did. I think you should keep her, Mon," Joey replied as he shovelled more eggs into his mouth. Monica laughed.

"Okay Joey, she can stay." She smiled. "Thanks Riley."

"No problem," Riley replied with a smirk. "So, where were _you_ last night?"

Monica blushed.

"Um, just...out."

"With Richard?"

"Maybe."

"All night?"

"What is this, the third degree?"

"Well, you know, you _did_ give me a curfew last night, and then you weren't here to enforce it. For all you know, I was out all night too."

Monica shook her head.

"No, you can't pull that one on me. I passed the torch to Rachel as the official curfew enforcer," she said.

"Yeah, well I was an hour late coming in last night, and Rachel didn't care. She said we could keep it a secret, so maybe you should reconsider this passing of the torch." Riley smiled.

Monica shot a glare at Rachel, who shot a glare at Riley. Riley giggled.

"I'm joking, sheesh!"

Lightening up, everyone had a good laugh and finished their breakfast before heading down to Central Perk, where Phoebe had planned to meet Frank Jr. mid-morning.

Riley tried a sip of Rachel's Expresso and was promptly grossed out, quickly ordering a mocha latte to drown out the bitter taste.

Phoebe decided to start teaching Riley some chords, so she pulled out her guitar and started showing Riley the different stretches of the hand to strum chords. Riley was picking up on the lesson fairly quickly, which reduced Joey to a series of pouts.

"No fair! How come when you tried teaching me guitar, you were nothin' but horrible and mean to me?" Joey asked, his lower lip protruding. Phoebe sighed.

"Because, Joey, you were unteachable. Some people have it, and you do not. Don't feel bad, you're good at other things. Riley, though, well, Riley has magic guitar fingers, just look!" She grabbed hold of Riley's hand and held it up. "She was _meant_ to play guitar."

Riley grinned.

"Really?" she asked, ignoring Joey as he continued to pout.

By the middle of the morning, Riley could play three chords, causing her guitar teacher to erupt in ecstatic giggles and clapping as Riley played them carefully.

"That's fantastic! Oh, yay me for teaching you! Yay for you too! Oh, guess what! No, we should go on the road together! Yeah, start a band. We could call it 'The Phoebes', you know, or something! Oh, I'm so excited!" Phoebe exclaimed. Monica and Phoebe laughed, while Joey and Chandler were thumb wrestling, and Ross was watching Riley and Phoebe with a growing interest.

They knew something boring was coming.

"You know, you two should write a song about the Ichthyosaur. You know, that's Greek for "fish dinosaur." They're the ancestors of dolphins."

Phoebe and Riley stared at him blankly.

Ross shrugged.

"Just sayin', I think it would make a pretty rockin' song, if you know what I'm saying."

He grinned.

Phoebe shook her head.

"Nah."

Ross directed his attention to Riley, who busied herself with the guitar.

"Riley, come on, you're a sharp, young mind. Aren't you interested in the Ichthyosaur, or any kind of prehistoric creature?" he asked.

Riley swallowed, gazing at Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe, hoping for some backup. Nobody said anything, so she cleared her throat.

"Well, do you want the truth, or a really bad lie?"

"Hey, Frank's here!" Phoebe called out excitedly before Ross could comment.

Phoebe jumped up to greet her little brother at the door, while everyone else turned, yelling their hellos and waving. Riley watched curiously as she noticed how Phoebe and her little brother looked nothing alike.

They all talked for a few moments as Frank came into the coffee shop, shaking people's hands, high-fiving, telling everyone he was fine. Riley watched him, realizing he was kind of strange as he talked about the oddest things, like when he told Joey about finding a duck wandering around downtown New York. Who brought that kind of stuff up anyway?

Frank took a seat on the couch beside his sister, and Riley got a good look at him. He couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than she was, his eyes were droopy, he looked like he was falling asleep, and he was kind of short. He kept glancing at her, and Riley, being too shy to say anything, looked into her coffee cup. Her cousin was the one who realized nobody had introduced them.

"Oh Frank, I forgot. This is my cousin Riley. She's staying with Rachel and I," Monica explained as she motioned toward Riley. Riley offered a shy smile, but Frank Jr. laughed with a snort.

"Okay, but what kind of a name is Riley?" he asked. Riley glared.

"What kind of a name is _Frank_?"

"I know, it's stupid, isn't it?" Frank asked with a laugh, like it was exactly the kind of conversation he wanted to have. Riley couldn't help but smile. So he hadn't meant to be rude. He just didn't seem to have a social filter.

Maybe he was more like Phoebe than she realized.

Phoebe asked her brother what was new in his life, and he began telling them all about the crap he'd been dealing with at home, with his mother.

"You know, it sucks, 'cause she went and kicked me out. It's cool, though. I've just been kind of wandering around, staying at friends house, or my sister's. I mean, it sucks, but what are you gonna do, right?" he asked. Riley was the one who nodded her agreement.

"I hear you. I was kicked out too," she replied. Frank's eyes lit up.

"Really?" he asked passionately. Riley laughed, nodding.

"Yeah. She said I needed an 'attitude adjustment."

"Wow that's so crazy! My mom said I was a deadbeat, but it's practically the same thing!"

"Kind of." Riley smiled. "Did she yell at you all the time?"

"I think so. Mostly, all I could hear was 'blah, blah, blah."

"I know! It's so annoying!"

"Yeah!"

Riley and Frank Jr. continued comparing their psycho mother stories, while the rest of the friends carried on a separate conversation.

"Do you know how old he is?" Riley asked, as she, Monica and Rachel headed back to their apartment an hour later. Monica turned and stared at her cousin.

"Who?"

"You know, Frank."

"Oh." Monica thought. "I don't know. Maybe 18."

"Monica, I was thinking we could all go see a movie tonight. I hear that new one with Brad Pitt is supposed to be good. Should I call the theatre for showtimes?" Rachel asked as they let themselves into the apartment.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. Riley, are you interested?" Monica asked.

"Yeah, sounds great!" She paused. "Will you invite Phoebe?"

"Probably." Rachel figured.

"I wonder if Frank would want to come." Riley poured herself some juice. "So where's he from anyway?"

Monica forgot, but promised to ask Phoebe later. In that moment, Monica had a hunch, and she knew she could be wrong, but after she couldn't help but notice Riley's sudden interest in Frank Jr.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

The next morning rolled around and Riley eased out of bed quietly, so as not to wake Monica, who was still sound asleep. She reached under her bed and pulled out her sketchbook and a few pencils, sneaking out of the room on her tiptoes. Seeing nobody was up yet, and nobody was over, she ducked out of the small window leading out to the balcony. Smiling, she settled on the ledge of the balcony, staring down at the city street, and out at the tall buildings. Feeling a burst of inspiration, she began to sketch the high-rise buildings, settling back against the stone wall, enjoying the morning air on her skin.

She lost track of how long she'd been out there, but before long, she'd already sketched a skeletal version of her drawing, complete with windows, and a bit of shading. That was when she realized she was no longer alone.

"What are you doing out here?"

Riley turned and saw Rachel standing next to her, holding a cup of coffee. Riley smiled.

"I guess I'm a bit of an early riser," Riley replied. "I wanted to check out the view."

"Monica would kill you if she saw you up on that ledge," Rachel pointed out, arching an eyebrow with a mischievous grin. Riley laughed.

"Well, what she doesn't know can't hurt her."

"What are you drawing?" Rachel moved in closer to take a look at Riley's drawing. Riley turned her sketchpad so Rachel could get a better look.

"Just a rough draft. I thought I'd get some sketching in of the city, you know, in case I'm not here forever." Riley glanced out at the landscape. "I don't ever want to forget how big the buildings were."

"This is really good," Rachel said, pointing at the sketch. "How long have you been drawing?"

"A few years," Riley replied. "Just sketches here and there."

"You know." Rachel grinned. "I'm a bit of an artist myself."

"Really?"

"Sure! Well...I mean, kinda. I design clothing, so, you know, I have to draw stuff...sometimes."

She hardly seemed convinced anymore. Riley smiled.

"That's sweet." She turned back to her drawing, shading in the windows. "So, is everyone hanging out today?"

"I don't know, probably." Rachel smiled. "But aren't you getting bored of hanging out with people who are so much older than you?"

"You're not _that_ much older." Riley laughed. "Anyway, I really like hanging out with you guys. I don't know, it's...insightful."

"Yes, well, we _are_ a wise bunch," Rachel replied.

"Do you think Phoebe will come by today?"

"Maybe."

"Do you think she'll bring Frank Jr.?"

Rachel's curiosity was sparked. After Riley had gone to bed last night, Rachel and Monica had spent a large amount of time chatting about the possibility of Riley _actually_ being romantically interested in Frank Jr. The fact that she'd asked if Frank would go with them to the movies last night was their first clue. Their second was the disappointment on Riley's face when Phoebe showed up alone. Rachel didn't think much on it, but was determined to look for clues.

Now, Riley's sudden curiosity about Frank's presence today sparked Rachel's interest.

"Maybe. I guess it just depends on whether or not Frank feels like tagging along," Rachel replied, leaning in the way she tended to do when she was curious about stuff.

Riley never looked up from her sketch, but Rachel was fairly sure she saw some pink in the girl's cheeks.

"Hey Riley?" Rachel asked.

"Mmm?"

"Do you have a thing for Frank Jr.?" That was Rachel - straight to the point.

Riley's head shot up, scoffing slightly.

"Hardly! I don't even know the guy!"

Rachel read between the lines. Riley was a little too defensive, in her opinion.

"Okay, just asking." Rachel turned toward the kitchen. "Monica's up. I'd finish your sketch inside if I were you."

Riley thanked her and jumped down, following Rachel back into the apartment where they found Monica pouring herself some fresh coffee.

"Ooh, can I have a cup?" Riley asked as she sat down at the kitchen table. Monica lifted an eyebrow.

"Coffee? Riley, you're only 16."

"So?" Riley didn't seem to see the problem. "I've been drinking it since I was 13."

Monica couldn't really see how she was going to get out of this one - how do you tell someone who was probably already addicted to the stuff she couldn't have it anymore? Giving in, she poured Riley a cup, who dropped in two sugar cubes, and began to drink it.

"Ew!" Monica and Rachel, who drank their coffees with cream only, wore disgusted faces. Riley laughed.

"Hey, it's not as bad as how my mom drinks it. She drinks it just black."

And just like that, Riley's demeanor changed. Her smile dropped, and she stared into the coffee mug, silent and sullen. Monica couldn't help but notice.

"Anyway, what time do you think people are coming over?" Riley asked, changing the subject as quickly as it came up. Monica wasn't ready to let it go, however.

"Riley, can I ask you a question?" Monica asked, sitting down next to her cousin.

Riley shrugged.

"Anytime you start talking about your mom, you kinda change the subject." Monica paused. "Is it because you think I'll be offended if you talk about her? You know, like I think you liked it better back home? Because Riley, you don't have to worry about that. It's okay to miss home, miss your mom."

"No!" Riley exclaimed, dropping her voice to a quieter tone. "No, it's not that. I just...I just don't want to talk about her, that's all."

That was it. Riley didn't say anymore and Monica didn't push her, but she made a note; Riley was still upset about her mother, and though she didn't talk about it, Monica had a feeling it would come up sooner or later. Eventually, Monica would know more about the pain Riley still carried with her. For now, all she could do was do her best to give Riley a good time while she was here.

It didn't take long before people started showing up. Ross came first, followed by Chandler and Joey, who pouted at the lack of breakfast on the table.

"Come on Riley, you started a tradition, now you're holdin' out on us?" Joey asked. Riley offered to make breakfast, but Monica made her sit back down, telling her she would just be enabling Joey if she cooked breakfast every weekend. He'd never do anything for himself.

"Next thing you know, he won't even be able to go to the bathroom by himself," she pointed out.

So Riley settled herself down on the couch while Chandler flipped through the television channels. Monica and Rachel cleaned up the kitchen, and Joey was picking it a loose thumbnail.

As Chandler flipped through the channels, a commercial depicting a mother making a Nutella sandwich for her son flashed on the screen, and Chandler made an odd noise.

"What?" Riley asked.

"Nothing," Chandler replied. "It's just my mom's contribution to my school lunches usually ended up being a fake fingernail she'd accidentally dropped in with my sandwiches."

"That's disgusting."

"Yeah, gotta love the brutal childhood." Chandler sighed. "I mean, you understand Riley, you've had it rough too."

"Sure."

Riley felt herself growing uncomfortable.

"I mean, I survived it, but having a mother like my mother was definitely not without its consequences. I won't even go into those, but look at me now." He spread his arms out. "I ended up with humor as a defense mechanism because of my parents' divorce, and all the wonderful ways they screwed me up."

"Uh-huh."

"So what about you?" Chandler turned to her. "What's your vice? I mean, I use humor, what about you? What gets you through all the crap you came from?"

Riley was silent.

"You know, obviously you had crazy parents or you wouldn't be here with Monica, right? So what's the story?" Chandler continued. Monica, scrubbing her counter, heard Chandler going on, and stole a peek over to see Riley looking terribly uncomfortable. Hadn't she just finished telling her that morning how much she didn't want to talk about her mom?

"Chandler!" Monica chastized. "Leave the poor girl alone."

Shrugging, Chandler went back to flipping through the channels, and Riley shot Monica an appreciate smile.

The boys had found a pre-football game show starting up and they were glued to the television. They tried to explain football to Riley, but Riley wasn't 100% paying attention. In fact, all she kept doing was glancing at the apartment door, checking to see if Phoebe was showing up. Would Frank Jr. come with her?

Monica and Rachel, finishing up in kitchen, caught this gesture. It happened every minute or so, Riley would crane her neck and glance at the door. Rachel bit her lip to keep from grinning, as she turned to Monica, lowering her voice to whisper.

"You see her?" Rachel asked.

Monica nodded, her own lips curling.

"You think it's true?"

"That Riley has a thing for Frank Jr.?" Rachel smiled. "Totally. Look at her, and I don't care what she tried to tell me this morning, that girl is totally falling for the guy."

"I wondered it too. Maybe we're just reading into it all wrong. I mean, she did just move here, maybe she's just making friends." Monica pointed out.

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we can't just assume anything, I mean-"

With that, Phoebe walked into the apartment with Frank Jr. in tow.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late!" Phoebe announced.

"It was my fault. I couldn't stop eating breakfast, I was just so hungry," Frank Jr. added.

Monica and Rachel stole a peek over at Riley, who had turned a lovely shade of pink, and turned away with a slight grin on her face.

Monica caught Rachel's eye.

"Okay so maybe we _can_ assume things," Monica said.

Frank Jr. settled himself on the couch, and instead of enjoying the show with the guys, he turned his attentions to Riley.

"So, Ricki, right?" Frank asked.

"Riley." Riley laughed.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I knew it was a weird name."

"Like I said, Frank's no better."

"Hey there's lotsa cool 'Franks.' Like, you know, Frankenstein."

"What about Frank Sinatra?"

"Who?"

Riley giggled, her cheeks turning pink again.

"No one."

Monica and Rachel shared eager glances. Phoebe wondered what she was missing.

"So what do you do for fun, Rowlee?" Frank Jr. asked.

"Riley." She huffed playfully. "I draw, I just started art classes right now, um, oh, I skateboard, and-"

"You skate?"

"Yeah."

"Me too!"

That took Riley by surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Frank exclaimed. "Well, I mean, I'm not very good, I just took it up a few months ago, how long you been skating?"

"Three years," Riley replied.

"So you're a pro?"

"Sure." Riley smiled.

"I brought my board with me." Frank pointed toward the door. Riley craned her neck and saw a black skateboard leaning against the door. "Would you teach me some smooth moves?"

Monica and Rachel stifled their laughter.

"Yeah, let me just get my board, we'll go outside."

With that, Frank Jr. jumped up from the couch, ran to retrieve his own skateboard while Riley disappeared into the bedroom, reaching under the bed for her own hot pink and black skateboard.

Without a word to anyone else, Frank and Riley, both immersed in skateboard talk, left the apartment.

Apparently Monica and Rachel weren't the only ones who picked up on the exchange. Even the guys all turned to face each other.

"Aww, it looks like Riley's got herself a little crush," Ross said sentimentally.

"Yeah, man they're all over each other!" Joey exclaimed.

"They were just talking!" Chandler pointed out.

"Oh come on, Chandler, you couldn't see them flirting?" Rachel asked.

"Flirting?" Phoebe added.

"Come on you guys, I know this is cool and exciting, but we have to make sure we don't tease Riley about this, at least not too badly. She's shy when it comes to guys, and maybe she is crushing on him, but we should be sensitive about it, not just give her the third degree." Monica still felt guilty about their first sleepover.

"Oh but this is wonderful!" Phoebe exclaimed, finally getting what was happening. "If my brother and Riley end up getting married, Riley'll be my sister-in-law!"

"Woah, Phoebe, don't rush anything, the kid is 16. Besides, what did I just say about not giving her the third degree?" Monica smiled. "Somehow, I think bringing up marriage might terrify her to death."

"Dude, before you start learning tricks, you gotta be able to stay _on_ the skateboard," Riley said, laughing as Frank failed at balancing on his own board. He'd make it a foot before he took a tumble.

"Come on man, show me an aloe."

"It's called an ollie." Riley laughed. "You're not ready for it."

She popped one herself.

"You _gotta_ teach me that, man!" Frank whined.

"Stand on your board without moving, then."

He couldn't.

"Get that down first, then I'll teach you the ollie."

"Fine, I'll practice when I get back home."

Riley felt her stomach sink.

"You-you're leaving?"

"Yeah, tonight, I mean I was just visiting for a little bit," Frank replied.

"Wow, that was short."

"I know."

"It sucks." Riley felt her cheeks get hot. "I just mean, I could teach you to stay on that skateboard a little longer."

"I'm coming back in two weeks," Frank piped up.

"You are?" Riley asked.

"Yeah."

That was all that was said on the matter, but Riley had to fight to keep herself from smiling about it. She went back to showing off the tricks she knew, and then trying to help Frank Jr. stay balanced on his board.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get an update up. I've just gotten back into my fanfics, and I've been trying to catch up on other ones. I just finished my last fanfic, so good news: this one is my next project, as in, it gets my full attention, so you'll be getting regular updates now until it's finished (not too many chapters left to go). Hope you enjoy. Thanks :)

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

A week and a half had passed, and Riley had settled in as comfortably as if she had been there for years. As much as she thought living with the cousin she never knew existed until a few weeks ago would be awkward and strange, she was proven wrong. She loved Monica, and Ross, and the rest of the gang, and was convinced her mother's decision, as weird as it sounded, was the best one she'd ever made.

Monica had settled into the new routine as well, and even though it felt weird at times to have a teenager around to think about, it was worth every second. It was almost like having the little sister she'd always wanted. Riley was so much fun, and enjoyed hanging out with them, even with the age difference. Even though Monica had been hesitant about this whole ordeal at the beginning, she was glad she'd said yes.

It was a Tuesday afternoon when Monica was cleaning up the kitchen after lunch. Rachel had just left to meet Ross at work, and Monica was left alone with her thoughts.

It had been bugging her for a few days now. Riley had been here for quite a stretch of time now, and there hadn't been one single phone call from Jodi, Riley's mother. Riley didn't like to talk about her mother, that much was obvious, but Monica was trying to see the bigger picture. Despite any of the problems there might have been at home, what mother wouldn't want to hear how their little girl was doing, especially when they were living away from home? It made Monica mad, actually. Why hadn't Jodi called to hear her daughter's voice, ask how she was doing at her new school, let her know she was loved?

But, was she loved? Did Jodi actually care? It wasn't like Riley was overly open about it all, but Monica couldn't understand what mother wouldn't want to be aware of what was going on in her own daughter's life.

Well, Monica couldn't just sit around and stew about it. She grabbed her phone and dialled her parents' number.

"Hello?" Mrs. Gheller answered after only one ring.

"Hi mom," Monica replied, settling in the corner of her couch.

"Oh hello, Monica, how are things?"

"Um, alright." Monica cleared her throat. "Hey mom, um, have you guys heard from Jodi at all?"

There was a pause.

"No, why would Jodi try getting a hold of us?" Mrs. Gheller wanted to know.

_Figures._

Her defenses rising, Monica let out a long sigh.

"Maybe because of her kid?" She clenched her teeth. "Her kids been with me for almost a month, mom. Why wouldn't Jodi try getting a hold of us?"

"Oh yes, that." Mrs. Gheller cleared her throat. "How is that going?"

She sounded concerned, like she expected some kind of conflicted answer about how terrible this kid was. Monica tried to sound patient.

"It's going really well, mom. Riley is a terrific kid, and I honestly have no idea what Jodi is talking about when she says Riley is nothing but rebellious, bad, whatever she's said. Riley is none of those things. She's smart, she's creative, and so kind. I've never met anyone like her." She paused, rubbing her temples. "Listen, can you give me Jodi's number at least? I feel like I need to at least talk to her, tell her how her kid is doing."

_Since she obviously isn't interested._

Mrs. Gheller recited Jodi's number, and Monica wrote it down, gently telling her mother she'd call her later. For a while, Monica simply held the phone in her hand, wondering if it was really a good idea to call Jodi. Would that make Jodi mad? Would it upset Riley?

She was definitely conflicted, but at the same time, her instinct was to stand up for Riley. Her own mother had ditched her, and hadn't even tried to contact her. No, that wasn't right. Monica dialed the number.

Three rings until someone answered, and Monica felt her heart fluttering. Maybe she shouldn't have called.

_Come on, get a backbone!_

"Jodi?"

A pause.

"Yes?" The woman responded. "Who is this?"

Monica tried to remember the last time she had seen this woman, her aunt. She would have been eight or nine at the last Christmas dinner Jodi attended. After that, she went into her prostitution stage and never contacted the family again.

Well, at least not until she wanted to pawn off her own daughter.

"It's Monica Gheller. Your neice, Jack's daughter. Riley's staying with me." Monica said in way of introduction. She paused, waiting while Jodi seemed to be trying to figure it all out.

"Oh yes!" she finally said, coming to a quick realization. "You're Jack's little fat girl, aren't you?"

Monica repressed the urge to tell her she was no longer fat. She wasn't calling Jodi to discuss her body weight.

"Anyway, Jodi, I just thought I'd give you a shout and, you know, let you know Riley's doing really great here," Monica said. Jodi was silent for a few seconds before clearing her throat.

"Oh, of course. Well, thank you."

Monica felt anger rising up inside of her and thought if she could shoot a death glare through the phone, it was exactly what she would be doing right now. Though a part of her knew she should just hang up the phone and leave the conversation as it was, her love for Riley won out, and she bravely spoke up.

"Just out of curiosity, Jodi, why haven't you called your daughter?" Monica made sure she placed an extra emphasis on _daughter_. "I mean,s he's been here for quite some time now, and you haven't called her once."

"Life gets busy."

"A simple phone call doesn't take a lot of time. I'm sure Riley would-"

"Look, Monica, I understand you're new to this, and you've only known Riley for a short time, so you can't know what it's like. That girl hates my guts and wishes I were dead. She doesn't have to say anything, you can see it in her eyes. I don't need that sort of attitude, so it's better I don't talk to her. You may not approve, Monica, and maybe in your perfect world, these things don't happen, but it is what it is, and I would appreciate it if in the future, you don't tell me when I should or shouldn't talk to my daughter. She can have her life out in New York, she doesn't need me and frankly, I don't need her."

Jodi was still talking when Monica hung up the phone, just as Rachel walked into the apartment. Rachel immediately sensed Monica's frustration, and dropped her bags to join her friend at the kitchen table.

"Your mom?" Rachel asked, motioning to the phone. It wouldn't be the first time Monica was upset after a conversation with her mother. Monica breathed out, shaking her head.

"Not this time," she said with a sigh. "I called Jodi."

It took Rachel a second to make the connection.

"Jodi; you mean Riley's mom?"

Monica nodded.

"Why did you call her?" Rachel wanted to know.

"Rachel, Riley's been here two weeks. Her mother hasn't called to check up on her _once_! What kind of mother doesn't care where their kid is?"

Rachel nodded, puckering her brow.

"You're right, that is a little low." Rachel paused. "Has Riley said anything about it?"

"No, you know Riley, completely shut off when it comes to her mom. She hasn't said anything, but it's gotta be killing her. How can a kid not think about the fact that their mom shipped them off and then never even bothered to call? It's gotta be on her mind." Monica sighed. "I just wish I could fix this, make it all better. Poor Riley. Her mother doesn't even _care_!"

Rachel offered Monica a small smile and placed her hand on top of hers.

"That's why she's lucky to have _you_, Mon."

Monica met her best friend's eye, and managed a smile.

"What would I do without you, Rach?"

Rachel smiled back.

"You wouldn't be able to hack it," she replied, patting Monica's hand and rising to grab her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she sauntered across the room toward her bedroom. Monica couldn't help but feel better; Rachel had a way of always bringing her back to what really mattered.

Monica got up and began wiping down the counters in the kitchen when the apartment door opened and Riley came in, seemingly out of breath.

"Hey Riley, what did you do, run home?" Monica asked, laughing at Riley's rosy cheeks.

"Kind of. I got off the bus and blitzed it. You wouldn't _believe_ the amount of homework I was given today! I'm gonna be up all night getting it done!" Riley exclaimed, dropping into a chair at the table, opening up her backpack to pull out a binder and a textbook.

"You're starting in right away?" Monica asked with a grin.

"Believe me, if I don't, I won't get any sleep tonight." Riley began arranging her books and pencils on the table when her eyes fell upon a small piece of paper with Monica's handwriting on it. It was a phone number, one that Riley recognized without a moment's hesitation. She swallowed hard, dropping a pencil.

"Uh, Monica?" Riley asked as her cousin continued to tidy the kitchen.

"Believe me, Riley, you do _not_ want to ask me anything about math. I almost failed it in high school," Monica replied with a giggle.

"Why do you have my mom's phone number?"

Silence followed. Riley had caught her, and now Monica would have to explain, which would mean having to bring up the fact that her mother hadn't bothered to call her daughter once.

No, better to play it casual, Monica reasoned.

"Oh yeah, I got the number from my mom," Monica said with a casual smile which she hoped didn't look as fake as it felt. "I figured I'd give Jodi a call."

"Why?" Riley asked. "Why would you call my mom?"

Monica turned around and saw a glimmer of fear in Riley's eye. She picked up on it immediately.

"No, no, Riley, I didn't call her to say I wanted you to leave or anything like that!" Monica explained, laughing awkwardly. "No, I just figured I'd give her a buzz and let her know you've settled in okay, you know, because she hasn't had a chance to call yet."

_Not like she ever would have called,_ Monica thought bitterly.

Riley stared at her cousin for a few seconds before she slumped in her chair and sighed heavily.

"Don't bother, Monica. She'll never call here, not ever! Now that I'm gone, as far as she's concerned, I don't exist!" Riley slammed open her textbook and began furiously pencilling some formulas into her binder.

Monica watched with a breaking heart. This girl was hurting, and she was fighting so hard to pretend like it didn't. Monica couldn't just let it go, no matter how much Riley wanted to. She dropped her cloth and settled in the chair next to Riley. Monica reached over and gently took the pencil from Riley's hand, forcing her to stop.

"Riley, you can talk to me, you know," Monica gently said, watching Riley carefully. Riley was silent, never looking up, but she wasn't taking off, and she wasn't grabbing her pencil back. She just stared silently at the grooves in the table.

"What's up with your mom, Riley? Why would you say you don't exist to her? Why did she send you off? Why did she tell my parents you were this uncontrollable rebel? I gotta be honest, Ri, I haven't seen _any_ of that! You're kind, you're fun, and you're way too good for 16." This got a small laugh out of Riley. "So what's the deal?"

Riley was silent for a long time before she raised an eyebrow and leaned back with a sigh. She met Monica's eye; her brown eyes looked so sad.

"Try living in this gigantic house, a mansion with so many rooms and way too much going on. But you're alone. Mom's always gone, and when she's around, she's got some kind of boyfriend around. She never saw me. The only time she ever acknowledged she had a daughter was when I acted out. So yeah! I was bad! I snuck out all the time, I got drunk with some friends a couple of times, I stayed out all night! One night, I was even brought home by the cops, but did any of that even matter?" Riley was yelling now. "All I wanted was for her to see me. All I wanted was attention! All I wanted was a mom like everybody else had; a mom who would actually discipline me, ground me, take away some kind of privilege when I was bad, a mom who _worried_ when I was gone all night, but she never did. Some mornings I would walk in the house and she would just walk right past me. When I told her I was out all night, she shrugged. She never cared. She only sent me away because she couldn't stand the school always calling and telling her what a terrible daughter she had. You know what she told me the day I left? She said, 'good riddance."

Riley looked as though she might cry, but she didn't. She bit her lip and just glared at her unstarted math homework, breathing out slowly through her nose. Monica, on the other hand, felt tears sting her own eyes as she watched her little cousin, heard about the life she had lived, her reasons for becoming the rebel. How could she fault Riley for any of that? It wasn't what she'd wanted for herself; all the girl had ever wanted was her mother's love. Monica could resonate with that all too well. She swallowed hard.

"Riley, I'm so sorry," she said simply, knowing that was not enough, nowhere _near_ enough. "I'm sorry I called your mom. I didn't know. I...I promise I won't do it again."

Riley looked up and met Monica's eyes, gave a small nod.

"Thanks, Mon." Riley sighed. "I've just had to accept things are the way they are. They're never going to change. They'll never be the way I want them to be. I've always grown up without a mother. I guess, in a way, I've mothered myself, raised myself. I became independent." She looked down again. "I, uh, I just don't really like to talk about this kind of stuff too much."

"I won't ever force you to, but sometimes it can help, you know? And remember, Riley, you aren't alone in this. Rachel and I, _all_ of us are here for you. Anytime you need to chat about something, you can come to us, and I mean about _anything_." Monica couldn't help but think about Frank Jr. and their theory that Riley had a crush on him.

Riley smiled and gave a nod.

"You guys are all so awesome. I'm so glad to be here," she said as she took her pencil back. "As corny as it sounds, this is the happiest I've been in a really long time."

Monica laughed and tousled her cousin's hair.

"Corny or not," she said. "I'm happy you're here too."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Another Saturday rolled around, and everyone was settled in at Central Perk with a hot cup of coffee; everyone, that is, except for Phoebe and Riley, who were up at the front of the shop behind two mics. Phoebe regularly played venues at Central Perk, and today was her first time trying a duet. Phoebe and Riley had been working on a new song all week about paintbrushes. Riley had written most of the words, but Phoebe had added her own quirks, and she played the guitar. As Phoebe and Riley performed their song, the rest of them watched and swayed with the music.

_"Soft and lush, the tip of a paintbrush..."_

"You know, I gotta say, Riley's quite the musician!" Chandler exclaimed.

"You're just saying that because the lyrics actually make sense," Rachel replied, referring to Phoebe's out-of-this-world method when it came to writing songs.

"_Flowy and wavy, painting drives me ca-razzy..."_

"It's refreshing to hear _music_," Ross added.

"Don't let Phoebe hear you say that," Joey chastized with a sympathetic laugh.

"_Paintbrushes so fulfilling, I can make a killing..._"

"You can tell Riley wrote most of these words..." Monica pointed out.

"_And painting's so seeeexxxy!_"

Everyone paused.

"There's Phoebe's touch," they all said, laughing as the song came to an end and everyone applauded. Riley and Phoebe jumped down off their stools, Phoebe leaving her guitar as the two made their way to the couches, accepting the praise and applause from their friends.

Riley settled in her spot from earlier, where a sketchbook was waiting for her. She immediately went to work on a new sketch while the rest of them kept talking.

"You know that song's really got me thinking about art, I'm inspired!" Phoebe exclaimed, staring at Riley. "Are you still taking those art classes?"

"Yep, I go twice a week in the evening," Riley replied, concentrating on her drawing, looking up at her subject every few seconds to re-capture the image in her head. "I've been working on a couple of new sketches for the class. Right now, we're learning how to do people, which is new for me. Usually, I do buildings and flowers and stuff." Riley spoke without breaking her concentration. Rachel, who had been so busy sipping her coffee, putting on lipstick, suddenly had the eerie feeling she was being watched. She glanced up and caught Riley's eyes on her, then back to the artpad, on her, then to the artpad again. Rachel swallowed, and turned to Monica, feeling weirded out.

"Uh," she whispered. "Why does she keep staring at me?"

Riley, who could hear her, laughed.

"Uh, hello?" She raised her sketchpad. "I'm _drawing_ you?"

Rachel blushed while everyone laughed.

"Well pardon me." Rachel cleared her throat, shifting in her seat, raising her chin, fixing her hair. "Would it be better if I had my head like this? Or I could flip my hair around on this angle. Ooh! Or, I could put my hand under my chin, you know, for the more seductive look. Or, I could pull the 'hard-to-get' face. Oh! What about a pouty face? That's what models do. Do you want me to re-do my makeup? I have my kit here." Rachel reached for her purse. Riley glared.

"Dude, just stop moving!" she exclaimed. "I already have your pose, so just freeze!"

"As if Rachel can ever sit still!" Joey snickered.

"Hey!" Rachel cried.

"Stop moving!" Riley scolded.

"Hey, Pheebs, so when does Frank Jr. come down again?" Monica asked, changing the subject. Rachel, who was busy trying not to move, noticed Riley seem to perk up ever so slightly when Frank Jr.'s name came up. Rachel began to pay more attention as Riley's pencil strokes became slower, and she wasn't even glancing up at Rachel anymore. Riley even shifted slightly in her seat.

"Next weekend," Phoebe replied. Rachel noticed a slight expression of disappointment cross Riley's face. She kept herself from smiling. The girl's interest in Frank Jr. couldn't be more obvious!

"Is he staying with you again?" Monica asked.

"Yeah, he'll be here just for the weekend, but he's really excited about coming back. He said he really liked New York," Phoebe replied.

Rachel was _positive_ the smallest smirk crossed Riley's face, as she went back to her drawing. Rachel couldn't take it anymore.

"I'll be right back, I need a refill," she said, raising her coffee cup.

"It's half empty." Riley pointed out. Rachel looked into her cup, saw half the contents floating around.

"Well, aren't _you_ the pessimist, I would say it's half _full_," Rachel said, feeling caught. Riley raised an eyebrow as Rachel downed the contents of her scalding hot coffee, eager for an excuse to escape.

"_Now_, I need a refill."

Riley only shrugged with a smile.

"Fine, but don't be long. I have to finish this sketch by my next class, and I have a feeling this will take all day if you don't quit moving," she said with a small shake of her head and a goofy grin. Rachel stood, and on her way, motioned Monica and Phoebe to join her at the counter.

"We need refills too!" Phoebe shouted a little too obviously as she and Monica joined Rachel at the counter. Thankfully, Riley was too caught up in her sketch to notice their strange behaviour.

"What's up?" Monica asked when the three girls were at the counter.

"We were right about Riley and Frank Jr.! I don't care what that kid says, she's got a thing for him so bad!" Rachel exclaimed as she kept her voice down to a low hiss, so Riley wouldn't hear her.

"Are you sure?" Monica asked, suddenly interested.

"Look, I had a front-row seat to her face while you guys were all talking about him coming to visit next weekend. She literally stopped drawing and even leaned toward you. I swear I even saw her _blushing!_" Rachel replied, trying to contain her excitement.

"This is so great! We were right all along!" Phoebe squealed.

"Okay, we need to confirm this, girls." Monica said, trying to be objective. "Be smooth. We'll just keep talking about him and see if we can get a reaction out of her."

"Then we'll know if she likes him or not," Phoebe added.

"Believe me, she does. I didn't date all those boys in high school without learning a thing or two about being a teenager in love," Rachel said as the three girls went back to their places, playing it cool.

"Where's your refill?" Riley asked as Rachel sat beside her.

"What refill?" Rachel asked.

"I thought you were getting a refill?" Riley said, looking up from her drawing with a slight hint of suspiscion in her eyes.

"Oh!" Rachel exclaimed. "Right, well, they're out."

"Of coffee?" Riley asked, not buying it.

"Are you gonna keep drawing me or what?" Rachel resumed her position, and Riley, with a slight roll of the eyes, went back to sketching Rachel. Rachel, Phoebe and Monica shared a quick glance, a quick nod, and they dove in.

"So, Phoebe!" Rachel said in a sing-song voice. "When did you saw Frank Jr. was coming again? I was too busy concentrating to hear what you said."

"Well, Rachel, I'm so glad you asked about Frank Jr. He's coming next Saturday."

They watched, and so far, no reaction. Riley's lip twitched ever so slightly, but it was hardly enough to read. She kept on sketching, focusing her brown eyes intently on Rachel's features, as though trying to block the girls out completely. Monica had a feeling she was only pretending she wasn't interested. They kept going.

"Well Frank _is_ such a great guy, it's _so_ wonderful he's coming! I bet _all_ of us are excited!" Rachel exclaimed not-so-subtly.

"Oh I know, it's just so great that he has the time to come see us, and isn't it great he's coming on a weekend, so we'll _all_ be here?" Monica asked, her eyes never leaving Riley, who didn't so much as flinch or budge. The girls stared at one another. This wasn't working; Riley was onto their game. Rachel had already confronted Riley about Frank Jr. and the girl had flat out lied to her, that is, unless she just wasn't sure at the time, but there was no denying it now; Riley had a thing for Frank Jr. and Rachel refused to rest until she got Riley to admit to it.

She decided it was time to pull out all the stops.

"Hey Phoebe, isn't Frank Jr. dating that cheerleader from his high school. What was her name, Darla?" Rachel asked. Before either of the girls could respond, Riley dropped her sketchbook and glanced up.

"He's _dating?_" she asked incredulously, her face turning red.

"Aha!" Phoebe, Monica and Rachel exclaimed simultaenously.

Riley bit her lip.

"You _do_ have a crush on Frank Jr!" Rachel pointed out. Monica and Phoebe nodded and leaned in close. Riley shifted uncomfortably, burying her face back in her sketchbook, her little ears turning red.

"What? You guys are crazy; no I don't." Riley tried to busy herself with sketching, but Monica took the book away as Phoebe nabbed her pencil.

"Then what was with that reaction? As soon as I mentioned a girlfriend, you freaked out!" Rachel exclaimed, getting nods from her friends in support.

"Well come on, that...that doesn't mean anything, I was just, you know curious," Riley tried.

The girls only stared at her. Riley, defeated, only breathed out, leaning back against the couch.

"Dang," was all she said.

Rachel, Phoebe and Monica scooted so they were all sitting next to Riley, up close and personal, excited to no end about this new gossip.

"By the way, Riley, there is no cheerleader," Rachel admitted. "I only did that because we had to know if you had a thing for Frank Jr."

"Well that's low!" Riley exclaimed.

"Oh come on, it's not like you were telling us!" Phoebe chastized.

"I didn't want to make a big deal about it."

"Are you kidding, this is big deal-worthy!" Rachel squealed. "So, did you tell him?"

"Tell _who_ what?" Riley asked.

"When you and Frank Jr. were down skating the other day, did you tell him how you feel?" Monica asked. Riley puckered her brow.

"No way!" She crossed her arms. "Don't you remember what happened the _last_ time I tried to be all cool and smooth around a guy? I'm surprised I didn't end up at the bottom of the high school food chain from that!"

"That's not even the same kind of situation!" Rachel reasoned. "The guy you tried flirting with was the most popular guy in school, that's _never_ a good place to start. Besides, you're a rookie, that was not a fair situation. This is _so_ different!"

"Yeah, Frank's a decent guy and I'm not just saying that because he's my brother." Phoebe paused. "Well, _maybe_ I am, but still!"

"Come on, Riley, you guys would be great together." Monica encouraged. "You could do it so simply, you know, you could say you had a really great time skating together the other day, and maybe it would be cool if you saw a movie together. It's simple, it's innocent, and there's totally nothing wrong with that."

Riley considered her cousin and the others for a few seconds and then scrunched up her face with a loud sigh.

"I don't know, guys, I just, I don't wanna go ruining anything," she confessed.

"You're not gonna ruin anything! Frank's the most mellow guy in the universe." Phoebe smiled. "Besides, he probably digs you."

"You think?" Riley asked, suddenly interested.

"Frank Jr.'s idea of socializing is talking to his fish; the fact he even _went_ skating with you is huge!" Phoebe replied.

Riley was silent for a little while before she huffed, impatient by the three sets of eyes glaring her down.

"Alright, alright, I'll _think_ about telling him how I feel!" she yelled out.

"Okay fine, but you better think fast, because he's coming next weekend," Rachel said with a nonchalent smile.

"Way to build the pressure," Riley added. "Gimme your guitar, Pheebs, let's do our second number."

Ready and willing for a distraction, Riley took Phoebe's guitar and wandered up to the front of the coffee shop with Phoebe for a new rendition of 'Smelly Cat', a song Phoebe had written, but never sung without her guitar. Riley, who had learned enough chords now, strummed the melody to the song while Phoebe belted out the lyrics, later claiming how much more freeing her voice could become when someone else was playing. She even said she might consider hiring Riley as her full-time accompanyist.

But Riley wasn't listening, not really. She was too busy running through the thousand-and-one scenarios of how Frank Jr. would react if she told him how she really felt about him.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Throughout the next week and a half, Riley made the girls promise not to bug her about Frank Jr; she still had to think about whether or not she planned on telling him her feelings, and the last thing she wanted them constantly bugging her. She promsied she would let them know what she decided to do whenever she figured it out.

But that was the problem; she was at a complete loss.

It was the Saturday morning Frank Jr. was scheduled to arrive. He was going to meet them all at Central Perk later that morning. Monica, Rachel and Phoebe were all seated around the kitchen table eating some toast. Riley hadn't gotte up yet, so the girls took this as their opportunity to discuss the events that could very well go down that day.

"I vote she'll tell him," Rachel said.

"I don't know; she's been really quiet about it this week. I've learned that when she gets quiet about something, she's usually upset about it," Monica added.

"Well maybe she's just upset thinking about the possibility he might say no," Rachel replied.

"There's no way he'd say no!" Phoebe exclaimed. "She's got nothing to worry about."

"She'll tell him," Rachel said again, smirking. "You guys want to make this interesting?"

She pulled out her purse. Monica hit her.

"We are not betting on my cousin's love life!" she scolded with a grin.

"Fine!" Rachel dropped her purse. "Agh, but can you imagine how _cute_ they'd be together? Skating down the street together, side by side, hand in hand, gazing into each other's eyes, leaning in, having their first kiss."

"Okay, weird, he is _still_ my brother, easy on the PDA broadcast!" Phoebe chastized.

"Yeah, and she's still my cousin," Monica added. "I don't need to imagine them skating down the street without helmets and not watching where they're going. Next thing you know, they'll be gazing into each other's eyes at the ER."

Phoebe and Rachel just stared at her - oh Monica.

"But think of how cool it will be if they get married, Mon!" Phoebe exclaimed. "You and me will be related...kinda...I think."

Monica laughed.

"Give them a break, they _are_ just kids." She paused. "But truth be told, I've already figured out what the theme of their wedding will be, and the full meal lineup."

That was when the bedroom door opened and out walked Riley in her plaid pj bottoms and an oversized T-shirt. Before she even had time to say good morning, all three girls jumped her like a hound of wolves.

"Today's the day!"

"Have you made a decision?"

"Time's a tick-tockin'!"

"He'll be here today, you know!"

"Do you have it all rehearsed, what you're gonna say?"

"You are saying something, right?"

Riley blinked.

"Geez, you guys, chill," she said with a slight laugh. "Start over, one at a time."

"Frank Jr.'s coming today," Monica said with a grin. Riley's cheeks went slightly pink, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Oh yeah, I guess he is." Riley moved past the girls toward the fridge where she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"Oh don't give me that!" Monica exclaimed, gently punching her cousin's arm. "I know for a fact you didn't sleep last night. Yeah, that's what roommates are good for; I bet you were up all night thinking about him."

Riley blushed again, and the girls couldn't help but squeal with excitement.

"Okay, whatever, so _what_?" She shrugged. "No big deal."

"Well of course it's a big deal!" Rachel exclaimed. "So? Are you going to tell him how you feel?"

Riley sighed heftily and then shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied, gaining another squeal from the girls.

"Okay, what I think is you should start by buttering him up, give him some compliments," Rachel started.

"Yeah, or talk about food! Frank Jr. loves food!" Phoebe added.

"Maybe bring your skateboard. Or maybe not, distractions wouldn't be good, maybe-"

"You guys!" Riley interrupted. "No offense, but the last time I listened to your advice, I got shunned like crazy by the cutest guy in the whole school so if it's alright with you, I think I'll do this my way."

The girls were silent for a moment, exchanging worried glances.

"Well, yeah, but Riley, have you ever, you know, _done_ this before?" Monica wanted to know.

"No, but I mean, if all I have to do is be honest with him, then it can't be that hard, can it?" Riley wasn't quite sure who she was trying to convince. Butterflies were invading her stomach.

"Well, what if you, you know, wore something a little different. What about if you wore a skirt instead of jeans?" Rachel tried.

"Hey, if Frank Jr. doesn't like me the way I am, then forget it." Riley stood to get dressed. "I'm not changing who I am for a boy."

As Riley went off to get dressed and the three others put their heads together to giggle and whisper, Monica couldn't help but feel a tinge of pride over her younger cousin - only 16 years old, and already firm enough in her identity that she wasn't going to be shallow. She distantly had a feeling the three of them could take a few lessons from the younger friend.

* * *

In under an hour, with an empty stomach, besides the butterflies, of course, Riley followed Monica, Phoebe and Rachel down to Central Perk, hardly aware of their last-minute advice and chatter, and even Rachel's fingers threading through Riley's hair in an attempt to fix it. All Riley could think about was all the things Frank could say that wouldn't be positive. Now that she thought of it, maybe she was coming down with a fever. Maybe she should just go back to bed. She said so to the girls, but they told her it was just nerves.

"It'll be fine, Ri, just be yourself and be honest," Monica said. Riley didn't feel comfortable with herself; now, she was wishing she could be Erin, or anybody else. Erin wouldn't be afraid of Frank Jr., of all people.

As they walked into Central Perk, Riley noticed Ross, Chandler and Joey were already there, watching as the three girls swooned over Riley. Riley rolled her eyes as the girls finally left her side to get coffee. Riley took a seat next to Ross on the couch and breathed out loudly. Ross stared at her, then at the giggling girls, then back at her.

"Um?" he asked.

Riley shook her head.

"Man, don't even ask!" she exclaimed, cupping her head in her hands. Ross knew better than to press any further.

By the time Monica, Phoebe and Rachel all got a cup of coffee, they took a seat and began to whisper amongst themselves about Frank Jr., until Riley felt so mortally sick to her stomach, she had to pull out her discman and crank her music, blocking them out with her headphones. Maybe Frank wouldn't show up today, maybe he'd had feelings for her all this time, and he was going to tell _her_ how much he liked her and wanted to hang out more, maybe even _date_! Maybe Riley wouldn't even have to do the work here. Yeah, that would be ideal. That would be fine. That would be _more_ than fine! That would be...heaven.

"Hey everyone!"

Riley jumped as she turned and realized an eighth person had joined their group.

There he was, just as she remembered him, the same face that haunted her all night as she tried to find sleep.

Frank Jr.

"Hey!" Phoebe and the rest of them exclaimed. Riley yanked her headphones off as Phoebe engulfed her little brother in a hug and the rest of them excitedly greeted Frank with hello's and how's-it-going's. Riley felt all color drain from her face. _Be cool, be cool._

"Hey everyone!" Frank Jr. greeted with an awkward wave before turning to Riley. "Hey Rowlee."

Riley waved with a grin, not even bothering to correct the name. Who cared?

The guys began to ask Frank Jr. a series of questions about sports, or school, or other things that Riley didn't hear, because she was too busy getting nudged and pinched by Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica, her ears bombarded with hissing whispers like "go for it," "come on, go talk to him," and "don't wait all day."

There was a lull in the guy's conversation for a brief moment, and six sets of elbows punctured her lungs. Riley jumped to her feet, clearing her throat awkwardly, catching Frank's eyes.

"Uh." She hated how shaky her voice sounded. "So...do you wanna go skate out in the back alley?"

She could hear the disappointed sighs from her three girlfriends, but the last thing she wanted was an audience. Frank nodded vigorously.

"Oh yeah, yeah, that's great! But first, man, I gotta tell you guys something, like _so _super important, it's so insane, you probably won't even believe it." He clapped his hands together and laughed his weird laugh before spouting, "I'm getting married!"

Dead silence. Riley felt her throat closing up. She couldn't have heard that right. No, she must be deaf or something.

It seemed like everyone else was just as confused.

"You're...what?" Was the common response.

"Getting married!" Frank exclaimed.

Getting married. Getting married meant he had a girlfriend, a fiance! Rachel may have been joking, but she'd been right after all.

Riley could only stare, silent as a mouse. No, she couldn't even bring herself to mutter a congratulations. Though she didn't look up, she could feel Monica's eyes on her.

"Wow, that's great man!" Joey exclaimed. "Who's the lucky chick?"

"My home ec teacher!"

Mouths dropped.

"What?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah! It was, like, you know, love at first sight, and all that kind of thing! You know what the best part is?" Frank Jr. laughed ridiculously. "She's 26 years older than me!"

Wow. So he was more interested in old ladies. Riley had never stood a chance; he'd never look at her that way.

It hurt more than she wanted it to.

"The wedding's next month!" Frank Jr. announced. "I, uh, I hope you can all come."

The guys hesitantly agreed, and eventually, the girls did too, and there were hesitant congratulations all around. Except from Monica, who watched for Riley, who was just as silent. She could only stare at Frank blankly, hoping she would one day be able to blot him from her mind. He shook everyone's hands and then turned back to Riley with a wide grin.

"So, let's go skating!" he exclaimed, grabbing his skateboard. "I been working on this new trick I made up. I gotta show ya, it's-"

"Um, yeah, you know, actually I think I might be coming down with something." Riley pressed her hand to her stomach for show. "I gotta get out of here."

Ignoring any and all comments that may have been directed at her, she rose from the couch and made a beeline for the door, forgetting her skateboard behind. Monica watched sadly, sharing a significant glance with Phoebe and Rachel, who appeared as equally upset. They knew how much this must have broken Riley's heart, and each of them felt guilty in their own way for pressuring the poor girl.

Frank, on the other hand, just watched Riley go with an awkward laugh.

"Dude, I hope she gets to a bathroom before she pukes all over the place."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Only moments after Riley ran from the coffee shop, Phoebe offered to take Frank Jr. to a movie, and as the two siblings left, Rachel turned to Monica, sighing heavily.

"Poor Ri," she said. Monica nodded.

"Did you see the look on her face?" she asked.

"No doubt about it," Rachel replied. "That kid is heartbroken."

"You saw it too?"

"Yeah." Rachel paused. "So, are you gonna go talk to her?"

"Yeah, I probably should. Do you think she went back upstairs?" Monica asked.

"Probably, but come down and get me if she's not there, and I'll help you look for her. I'll stay down here for a while though, and let you two talk." Rachel smiled. "Just tell her I'm sorry, and I love her."

Monica smiled back.

"I'll tell her, Rach, but I'm sure she already knows."

Monica said bye to the guys, who were oblivious to everything that just happened, only thinking Riley was sick. As Monica headed back up to the apartment, she couldn't help but wonder what she would find. Would the girl be crying? Over the last few weeks of Riley being there, she hadn't once seen her cry. There was that day after that dork surfer guy turned her down, Monica could tell Riley had been crying, but during all the conversations about her mother, Riley had been steel. How was she reacting to Frank's news? It was no secret her cousin had fallen for the guy, was excited about telling him how she felt, albeit nervously. Now, it was all for nothing. Monica could only hope she and her friends would be able to help Riley through.

Monica let herself into the apartment and found it empty. At first glance, Monica assumed Riley was not home, but then she saw movement out on the balcony.

Riley.

Monica breathed out and headed for the window leading out to the balcony, slowly easing her way through.

There was Riley, up on the ledge with her skateboard, a screwdriver in hand, fixing up her wheels. Monica ignored her racing heart - any other day, she would be giving Riley a hard time about being up on that ledge; it was dangerous, after all, but right now, there were more important things to deal with.

Like Riley's broken heart.

"Hey kid," Monica greeted, stepping up to the ledge, shoving her hands in her pocket. "Are you okay?"

Riley nodded, never looking up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Probably just a stomach bug or something."

Funny how she never met Monica's gaze.

Monica stared.

"Riley, come on, I know you're not sick, not with a stomach bug." She put a hand on Riley's knee. "It's alright to feel pissed off, angry, even sad."

Riley was just silent, working away on her wheels, her eyes fixed.

"Riley, come _on_! We all know you had a thing for Frank Jr. Of course you have a right to get mad, he just told us he's getting married to..."

Riley finally looked up, eyes swimming with anger as she raised an eyebrow.

"An old fart?" She said it with such edge, Monica couldn't help but nod.

"Yeah! See Riley? You _are_ ticked, and why shouldn't you be? So, come on, let it out! Yell, scream, kick something, throw something off the balcony!" She paused. "Just, uh, not my pegonias, okay? You know, they're just starting to bloom."

The smallest of smiles crossed Riley's lips and she breathed out slowly, leaning back and abandoning her skateboard.

"I'm not gonna yell, or ruin your pegonias. It's not gonna solve anything anyway." She shrugged. "I'm just an idiot for liking him in the first place."

"Hey come on, don't talk like that. You're _not_ an idiot! It's not like the guy dropped any kind of hints he was swooning over a woman old enough to be his mother. Believe me, if he was dropping hints like that, you would have clued in." Monica smiled. "Riley, you two seemed to really hit it off, we all saw it."

Riley looked up.

"You think so?" she asked.

"Absolutely! Rach, Phoebe and I all saw something there. We all sensed the chemistry, so we were all wrong on this. It just seemed so...obvious," Monica replied.

Riley breathed out, glancing up to catch Monica's eye.

"So...I'm not an idiot then? I'm not completely out of my mind?" she asked.

"No, you goof, _Frank_ is the idiot." Monica smiled. "He missed out on something really great."

Riley's eyes misted over ever so slightly before she smiled so small, it was hardly noticable.

"Thanks, Mon," she said, leaning over to wrap her arms around her cousin's neck, giving her a hug. Monica held her for a moment before releasing her with a shrug and a huff.

"Well _who_ needs him anyway, right?" she asked. "There are _plenty_ of fish in the sea. There's lots of opportunity out there for you."

"Yeah, I bet, but, uh, Monica? I don't really want to feel pressured into anything right now. You know, if some awesome guy comes along, then great, but I think I'm done with trying to pursue guys for a while. Two bad experiences is enough for me for now." Riley paused, biting her lip as she caught Monica's eye again. "So, uh, will I still be cool if I, you know, don't date?"

Monica could only laugh, grabbing Riley's hand and pulling her from the ledge.

"Of course! And don't worry, the girls and I will leave you alone until you're ready." Monica glared toward the ledge. "And, uh, Riley?"

"Yeah?"

Monica was going to tell her about the ledge being dangerous, ask her not to go up there anymore, but maybe she didn't have to. Riley wasn't stupid - she'd been taking care of herself for years. Instead, Monica only smiled.

"Nothing," she said. "What do you say you, me and the girls go see a movie tonight? No boys allowed; no Frank, no testosterone at all." Riley grinned.

"Sounds great! I'll go check the paper!"

As the two found their way back into the apartment, Riley went straight to the couch, grabbing the newspaper while Monica went to the kitchen to make some popcorn. That was when Rachel peeked her head in. Her eyes found Riley on the sofa, and then caught Monica's.

"Is it safe to come in?" she whispered.

Monica nodded with a smile.

Rachel came inside and stole a peek at Riley's face, which seemed suddenly carefree and busy scoping out the paper. Rachel smiled and then shared a glance with Monica.

"She's okay?" she asked.

Monica nodded with a smile.

Rachel was silent for a few seconds, just staring at Monica with a knowing look.

"See?" she said. "And you thought you'd be bad at this."


	21. Epilogue

**Epilogue...one month later**

Though it was hard on the girls' part, especially Rachel's, the three of them had learned to leave Riley alone on the dating scene. It took a couple of weeks for Riley to stop thinking about Frank, but eventually, his face didn't haunt her dreams anymore. She was even able to go to his wedding the next month with the rest of her friends and enjoy herself. She and Frank Jr. were able to stay friends, and they still went skating together, but it was always weird when his wife, Leslie, was around - it was like having a mother around, going on about how unsafe it was to skateboard without a helmit. And Riley thought _Monica_ was bad.

Riley continued on with her art classes, finding herself able to express her feelings through her art; her teacher told her her art truly came to life once she'd let herself put her emotions into it. She continued to do well in school, and had a good time hanging out with her six new friends. She'd never had friends like these, and though they were older, their experiences taught her so much about life, love and friendship. They had become her family. Riley's mom never called, and Riley never bothered calling her. Once in that first month, she wrote a brief letter to tell her mom she was okay, but she knew her mother probably just skimmed it. Anyway, it didn't matter - Riley was happy, for the first time in her life. She loved her new house, her new friends, her new family. She couldn't ask for anything better.

**The End.**


End file.
